Seeker, Chaser, Keeper
by Artanis
Summary: Love is like Quidditch...but life is the bludger.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey! You!? It's the Quidditch World Cup today, get up!" My foster brother hissed in my ear as I rolled over in bed, trying to studiously ignore him. "Fin, come on! We've got to go!"

"Ow, gerroff!" I grumbled as he shook my shoulder jarringly. Two in the bloody morning and he was already up to harass the hell out of me. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't miss the Quidditch World Cup for a sack full of galleons; but I'd wake myself up, thanks.

"Alright, but you asked for it." He laughed and walked to the other side of the bed, then opened his mouth and blew in my face. ARGH! "Morning breath!" He cried triumphantly.

"CEDRIC! You disgusting toad!" I shouted, leaping out of bed and tackling him. We crashed into the lamp and I grabbed my pillow and tried to clamp it over his face and suffocate him. He gave a muffled snort and fought me off, easily overpowering me. I whipped my wand out from under my bed and pointed at him, raising an eyebrow. He held the pillow up, ready to throw at me or use as a shield.

"You know the rules, Fin. No spells outside of school." His stupid grin was infectious and the corners of my lips curled into a reluctant smile. I tossed my willow wand from hand to hand, eyeing him.

"Yeah, but it doesn't count as a spell if I shove it as far up your left nostril as it will go." I pointed out, taking his hand and letting him pull me to my feet. It was so obvious I should have suspected the ploy, but it was too late. Cedric brought the pillow up and walloped me over the head with it.

"DAD!!" I roared, chasing my nemesis down the stairs at light speed. Amos wasn't my true father, and I had always secretly called him by his real name behind his back. Despite the fact that Amos was really the coolest dad anyone could ever have asked for. He adored us to the point of embarrassment. He bragged nonstop of Cedric's chivalrous deeds, of his courage and accomplishments. I was praised continuously for my spell work, excelling in Charms and Potions. I soaked this all up, enjoying the limelight. The only thing I disliked about it was the fact that the more stories Amos told, the more boys began to take notice, and the more suitors I had to fight off. All boys, as a standard rule, were completely immature. Take Cedric, for example.

With what I thought was a terrific battle-cry for four in the morning, I sprang from the second landing and sent us both tumbling down the stairs. We hit the ground laughing, both in such high spirits we didn't even mind the bruising.

"Oi! Enough horseplay! Five in the morning and you two are already up to your old tricks. You get along well enough you could actually be related." Amos Diggory called, ambling down the stairs and grinning his head off.

"Yuck." I said, cuffing Cedric over the ears before jumping up and brushing myself off. Cedric made a face off mock disgust and stuck his tongue out, wrinkling his nose.

"Aw, shush!" I shoved him, enjoying myself immensely. "He started it!"

"Did not." Cedric mocked in an obnoxious voice.

"Did too!" I called over my shoulder as I walked into the kitchen. I opened the fridge and searched for breakfast. The fridge door bumped lightly into my shoulder as Cedric faked slamming it shut. I stuck out my ankle and tripped him. Then, I saw it: The Last Chocolate Frog. It is a title worthy of its capital letters, trust me. Chocolate frogs were pure gold in this house. Unfortunately, Cedric noticed it at the same time I did.

"It's mine!" We cried in unison and lunged for it. I cracked my head hard against his elbow and my fingers scrabbled across the shelf until I caught a hold of the box.

"Ah ha!" I shouted triumphantly, one hand in Cedric's face as I tried to push him away from my chocolate. He caught my wrist and strained, snatching desperately. I stuck out my tongue and tried to lick the box, going on the standard rule that if it's covered in your saliva, it's yours.

"DAD!" Cedric called, finally serious as I was now employing the most unscrupulous of tactics. Amos pointed his wand at us and shouted something incoherent.

"Oh, hell." I grumbled angrily, frozen in place. Cedric started to laugh before trying to move, only to find himself similarly paralyzed.

"Haha!" I was triumphant as Amos shuffled around the table and plucked the chocolate frog from my grasp, holding it pinched between his thumb and forefinger, eyeing me suspiciously.

"You didn't lick this one, did you, Findabhair?" He was using my full name and I winced inwardly. I tried to shrug, only to realize I couldn't. Cedric snickered. "Did you?"

"No, of course I didn't." I muttered, put out that my valiantly defended frog had been lost.

"Right then," Amos said, down to business immediately. With a wave of his wand we were free and I shoved Cedric down as I stood up. We took our places at the kitchen table and Amos broke the chocolate in half and handed us each a piece. "Share."

I wrinkled my nose, I would not share. My pride was too important to me. I shoved my piece of still squiggling frog legs in Cedric's direction. The immaturity of fighting over the frog had fulfilled my quota for the day.

"Go ahead, I'm not hungry anymore." I replied, nudging the legs a little further towards Cedric.

"Are you kidding me?" Cedric asked me incredulously, shoving both pieces of chocolate towards me. "No way."

"Just eat the damned chocolate already!" I groaned and pushed it back towards him, thoroughly annoyed. He shifted them back towards me, a determined expression on his face.

"No way, I hate the head."

"I hate the legs." I replied, grabbing the head in sudden realization. Cedric reached over and shook my hand across the table.

"Done." We said together, shoving our consecutive chocolate pieces into our mouths. Amos stared at us out of the corner his eye, muttering something about 'teenagers'. We ate our quick breakfast with as little incident as possible, the one small-scale squabble being that Cedric had managed to somehow sneak all the toast.

We were not true siblings, and we'd spent nearly our entire lives explaining that fact. When people met us, the customary greeting went something along the lines of: Hello, my name is Findabhair and this boy I'm fighting with is not my brother. Perhaps I'm exaggerating a little, but it seemed that way. Maybe it was the fact that we were so sociable with each other that made people think we were siblings. Which didn't make any sense at all; true siblings were always at each other's throats, tooth and nail. Fine, fighting over the chocolate frog wasn't exactly friendly behavior, but it wasn't outright war, either. Besides the fact we didn't look a thing alike: Cedric is tall and handsome, with that slightly ruffled, mouse brown hair (he hated it when I called it mouse brown, which is really the only reason I still say it.) his jaw is too square and too much like his fathers. I, on the other hand, am about 5'7 with honey blonde hair, more aquiline features then any of the Diggory's, and I'm freakishly pale; even for an European. My eyes were an unexciting sage green, nothing like the silver hazel of Cedric's. We couldn't have looked more different if we'd tried.

Besides, there was a horrible reminder, more potent then looks and surname alone, that told me I was not a Diggory. My fingers brushed the silver bangles on my wrist absently. They hid the Dark Mark. It had been bestowed upon me at birth, sometime before my parents death. It wasn't special, didn't make me different from any other Death Eater children; I'd just been marked young. Which is exactly what it signified: A young follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The Diggory's, despite this horrible omen, had welcomed me into their family. There were other things, too. Things that even the Diggory's didn't know about, things that I'd kept hidden even from Cedric. I shuddered and forced myself to think of something else.

"That was my toast." I complained quietly as we trekked along behind Amos.

"Come on now, you don't need any more toast." He teased maliciously. I smacked him over the head and glared. I was perfectly thin, thank you very much!

"You should watch that figure of yours; you wouldn't want to disappoint your fan club." I smirked at the good comeback. Instead of saying something like 'At least I have one.' he surprised me by replying:

"What about your fan club? Was it just last year that Malfoy finally came to grips with his infatuation with you? And Seamus finally stopped harassing you?" I made a noise of disgust at his question. Yuck, yuck, yuck. I didn't care how attractive most girls found Malfoy, he was a devious little cretin. And Seamus Finnigan…well, Seamus was Seamus. That was enough.

"Too young! Malfoy looks like a basilisk and has the attitude of an annoyed Hippogriff." I argued, "And his compatriots, the witless goons Crabbe and Goyle, have faces like bags of ugly frogs. I mean how can I compete with them?" That made him laugh all the way to the oak tree where we were meeting the Weasley's.

The Weasley's were a pretty awesome family, friends wise. Neither Ced nor I saw much of the Weasley clan during school, even though I had casually befriended Hermione Granger(We'd taken the same Ancient Runes class together last year). It was plain to see that Granger was in utter love with the Weasley boy Ron. I smiled; it was a great thing to see two people besotted with each other who didn't even know it yet themselves. Cedric grinned and gave me a playful punch in the shoulder, forgetting he did so with bruising strength.

"Hey! Easy, you great galumphing twit! You'll break my arm." I swatted at him and he ducked the swipe, laughing. He stepped back to my side and continued where the fan club question had left off.

"So, the Weasley twin's?" He asked, grabbing a hold of the lowest tree branch of a large oak and swinging up onto a thick bough. "They flirt with you."

"They flirt with everything that has a pulse, Ced. Besides, I don't like them. They're still put out that Hufflepuff beat them last year. And you really only did it by accident…even if it was brilliant."

"Seamus-"

"Is hideous." I finished for him, leaning back against the tree and looking up at him. He tweaked a leafy branch and it splattered me with water droplets.

"They wouldn't all be so hideous if you weren't so picky, Fin."

"Yeah, like I'm going to take the advice of somebody who can't even go up to talk to Cho Chang without being surrounded by friends. You should just talk to her Cedric; she's honestly not as awe inspiring as you think." I grumbled, trying to conceal my loathing for the girl.

"Here they come." He whispered suddenly, standing up to peer through the fog at the approaching gingers.

"Game face." He slapped me a high-five. We were good at this stuff. We might act like a pair of kids at home, but once we saw real people: game face. It made Amos all the more proud of us. We behaved well, we were good students, and we did pretty much everything he asked of us. Plus, we were a crackerjack pair of Quidditch players. A lot of it was just acting like responsible young adults. Only Cedric and I and a few friends knew what we were really thinking.

I watched the red heads weave through the trees and Cedric leapt out of the oak, landing on his feet and standing in a lithe movement. Amos was already gabbing away to Mr. Weasley, their conversation in full swing.

"Ah, so this strapping young lad must be Cedric? Marvelous!" Mr. Weasley held out a hand to Ced and he shook it, smirking as though he owned the world. Once again: game face. I hung back a little bit, shouldering my bag and brushing my long hair out of my eyes, smiling politely."Sir." He answered respectfully. Mr. Weasley turned to me and grinned enthusiastically.

"And this must be F-" Mr. Weasley frowned suddenly, stumbling on my name. "Um, er…"

"Findabhair, pleasure." I shook his hand and his smile returned. Stupid, Gaelic name. Cedric snorted very quietly, managing to cover it with a short cough.

"Off we go then." Amos called, and we started off at a brisk pace. However, no pace was quite brisk enough to escape the Twins from hell.

"Hello, Foxy Fin, our dearest Bludgermeister." Fred and George cried, setting an arm each around my shoulders.

"Piss off." I muttered, a little less forcefully then I'd been going for. I saw Cedric glance back at me from where he was exchanging polite small talk with Mr. Weasley and Amos and shoot me a cheeky grin.

"Long time, no see. When was the last time we spoke to her, George?"

"I think it was the fifth Quidditch game of last year. We congratulated her on knocking that big Slytherin girl off her broom." George replied, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. The Weasley twins were too boyish looking for my taste, and badly needed a haircut.

"Congratulated? The both of you sandwich hugged me and kissed my cheek, it was revolting. It was not _congratulations_, it was torture." They each laughed uproariously at this and I groaned.

"Why are they all hanging around that manky old boot?" Asked Harry Potter, the kid prodigy. I turned my head slightly to eye him. Tall, gangly, just entering his awkward teenager phase. Glasses and bright green eyes, his trademark scar cutting a jagged lightning bolt line down the middle of his forehead. He blinked and looked at me and I averted my gaze, annoyed that I'd been caught staring.

"Ced's talked all about you, of course," Amos said, beaming with pride. "Told us all about playing against you last year…I said to him, I said--Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will…You beat Harry Potter!" Oh no, I groaned and glanced at Harry's carefully neutral expression.

"Harry fell off his broom, Dad," Cedric muttered, looking embarrassed. "I told you…it was an accident…"

"Right, but you didn't. Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman…" Oh Merlin, here we go again. Cedric hung his head in shame as Amos thumped him so hard on the back he nearly fell over.

"It doesn't take a genius to see who's the better flier-" Amos was ready to continue his proud rant when I cleared my throat, feigning a hurt expression.

"Yeah, but Dad…" Okay, I'd tried to catch a Bludger. It wasn't falling off, but it was as close as I'd come to it.

"Yes, Foxy Fin?" He asked, not quite over the high he got from boasting about Cedric's accomplishments. I winced at the use of a nickname that should not have been popular with my foster father but continued doggedly over Fred and George's barely controlled laughter.

"I've come off my broom before, and I'm certainly not a bad flier. Right?" I murmured, biting my lip and widening my eyes in a hurt expression. Cedric flashed me a grin as I watched Amos's face fall. I hated to do that to him, but sometimes-"Oh yes, dear, you certainly are a fine flier." And he turned to the portkey without another word, I grinned and winked at Harry.

"Must be about time…yes, it's a minute off. Are we waiting for anyone else?" Mr. Weasley asked, looking around.

"No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week and the Fawcett's couldn't get tickets." Amos answered, picking up the portkey and setting it between us.

"Harry, that's a portkey." George answered belatedly, coming to stand beside me.

"What's a Portkey?" Harry asked stupidly, staring at the boot. Oh, honestly! I should have kept my big mouth shut, but if there's one thing that a Ravenclaw cant stand, it's ignorance.

"It's an object that's used to transport wizards and/or witches from one spot to another at a prearranged time. Usually, portkeys just look like bits of rubbish, it discourages muggles from messing about with them. For example, this manky old boot." I took it from Amos and set it on the ground gently. When Harry continued to stare blankly at it, I sighed and continued. "Just touch it…a finger will do."

"Always the clever one, our Findabhair. She got thirteen O.W.L's, all O's and-" Amos began, working up to another accomplishment rant.

"We'd better get ready." Mr. Weasley said loudly and we all took our positions around the boot. Cedric knelt next to me, elbowing me in the side and grinning.

"Shush, it's not funny!" I hissed at him under my breath as he kept mouthing 'Thirteen O.W.L's!' at me and faking an amazed expression.

"'scuse me, chum. You wouldn't mind if I took a place next to your truly lovely sister, would you?" Fred asked offhandedly, not really looking at Cedric. He would have stood beside me anyway, silly twit.

"Be my guest." Cedric replied with a amused look, allowing Fred to squeeze in on my left.

"You know how I hate sore losers, boys, don't you?" I taunted, looking from Fred to George and smiling.

"Findabhair O'Brien , you're the most dreadful tease." George groaned.

"But luckily, your charming brother is willing to give us a chance." The boys burst into peals of laughter and I glared, mouthing a very rude word at Ced and earning a cuff on the head from Amos.

"Ow, Dad." I groaned, rubbing my head.

"On the count of three- One…two-"

"Harry!"

"Three." There was a jerking feeling and the world whooshed by in a myriad of colours. I had traveled so much by portkey it no longer phased me in the least. Cedric actually got a kick out of it, and had begged since he was little to be able to portkey himself around the house. Some of those portkey's still existed, much to my chagrin. It was annoying to have finally found one's hair brush under the couch and to pick it up and suddenly find oneself in the farthest, darkest reaches of the cellar. What had possessed Amos to enchant a portkey to the cellar for Cedric I'll never be able to understand.

"Let go, kids!" Arthur Weasley cried, grinning at the obvious joke of making them let go a little too prematurely. I snickered as they dropped out of the air, arms wind milling wildly. The rest of us slowly drifted to the ground, already walking as we touched down lightly.

"That'll clear out your sinuses, eh?" Amos laughed as Cedric held out a hand to Harry to help him up. I sauntered over to where Fred and George were slowly getting up, wincing and rubbing their bum's from impact.

"I must say you two fly beautifully. However, your landing could do with a little work." I laughed, holding out a hand to Ginny and Hermione each and pulling them to their feet.

"Thanks." Ginny smiled at me shyly and I winked at her. We forged on ahead into the surging crowds, everything noise and a wild mess of excited commotion.

"We're off to find our tent, see you about, Arthur!"

"Bye, Cedric!"

"Goodbye, oh lady love, parting is such sweet sorrow!" Fred and George called, blowing me a kiss. I glared at them and turned my back, shoving Cedric when he laughed too long at their joke.

"Well, here we are!" Amos opened the tent flap and gestured that I should go first. I ducked inside and marched into the living room, and started to search for my broom. It was a Nimbus 2000, the best broom I'd ever owned. However, it still didn't stop me from drooling over Harry's Firebolt, though. What a gorgeous broom!

"Don't be out too long, and remember to fly low, Findabhair. Watch out for the muggles."

"Got it." I shouted over my shoulder, racing for the door.

"Hey, Fin!" Cedric called, catching my arm. His eyes were bright, the excitement having finally gotten to him. "If you see Ernie-"

"I'll tell him your around." I promised, ducking out of the tent and mounting my broom. I kicked off from the ground and shot into the air, speeding away straight up. If I had my way, I would spend the majority of my life on a broom. There's truly nothing so exhilarating. And the speed! I'd often wondered how muggles felt driving cars, if it was anything like riding a broom. It couldn't be. There were too many things to hit while driving a car.

I leaned my weight forward as I hit the apex of my ascent and dove, speeding towards the ground. This was why I was a good chaser. No chaser dared drop so close to the ground as I did. It was actually all about diving, really. The Quidditch balls naturally loved the lower regions of the field, but so many players simply refused to dive. It was too frightening for them. I dropped like a stone and pulled out of the dive at about sixteen feet from the ground, zigzagging over the heads of the crowd and searching for one of Cedric's best friends: Ernie Macmillan. I swooped and dodged, ignoring the shouts of indignation I was getting from people.

"Macmillan?" I called, searching the Irish supporters. Ah ha! I poured on the speed and whipped by him, bringing my broom around to hover beside him, my toes touching the ground lightly.

"Bloody hell, Findabhair! Are you trying to take my head off!?" He laughed, in too much of a good mood to be mad at me for long. "Where's Ced?"

"He's around…" I admitted, shrugging my shoulders apathetically. I steered my broom in a couple of small figures of eight, biting my lip and pretending to think. Ernie glared at me and sighed impatiently.

"Probably over by the tent, or searching for Cho."

"Some help you are." He snorted, going to walk away. I floated along beside him and he spoke out of the corner of his mouth. "Look, you better watch out, Fin. The Malfoy's are camped somewhere around here and Draco's looking for you. Try and stay out of the adder's nest for once, will you? I can't bail you out like I did last year…" I grimaced at the memory of Draco's persistent obsession. Ernie went to turn a corner and I blocked his escape with the tail end of my broom.

"No goodbye?" I asked innocently, teasing him and trying to keep the atmosphere light.

"Goodbye. Am I allowed to go now?" He rolled his eyes.

"After you." I took off, whipping him in the face with the back of the broom.

~*~

Cedric sat on the edge of his seat beside me, itching for the match to begin. My eyelids were starting to droop as I listened to him ramble on about Victor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker. That's all it was, seeker this and seeker that. Chasers never got the credit they deserved. Lets face the facts here: I'd taken two bludger's for Cho Chang just so she could get the snitch. I'd broken my bloody arm and nearly all the bones in my left hand so we could beat Hufflepuff! Guess who got credit for the win? Cho Chang. However, there had been a great sense of elicit glee to watch Cedric take the beater's club and wallop Alex and Elie with it for their maliciously aimed bludgers.

"But, as far as chasers go, just look at Mullet! She's a magnificent flier, cuts effortlessly through the air! And Lynch…well Lynch is-" Cedric stopped suddenly and abruptly, catching his breath and exhaling in a hiss. I opened one eye, there was very little that could stop Cedric in the middle of his Lynch rant.

"Hello, Amos. Fancy meeting you here." I jerked awake, my entire body tense like a coiled spring. Cedric's face was carefully impassive and I swallowed with trepidation. Oh no. I knew that voice, it's rich and sickly sweet tones were unmistakable.

"Hello, Lucius." Amos plastered on a fake and nervous grin. Lucius Malfoy and his devil spawned son, Draco, stood in the aisle beside us. So much for stirring up the adder's nest, the adder's had come looking for us.

"Cedric." Lucius dipped his head politely and Cedric nodded curtly. His gaze fell upon me and his smile was far too predatory for me too feel comfortable. You might ask why I didn't just stand up and tell the pair of them to just shove off. It was more complicated then that. Lucius Malfoy's opinions(or should I say his money?) were held in high regard by the Ministry. Amos had worked happily there for years because Cedric and I kept our judgments on the Malfoy's to ourselves. Lucius held out his hand for mine and I allowed him to take it and place a kiss on my knuckles. In what he thought was a discreet movement, he brushed his fingers along the bangles and made them jingle lightly.

"Ah, Findabhair O'Brien. My, how you've grown into a beautiful young witch." Draco watched my reaction to his father's words. I smiled politely and slowly took my hand back, trying to discreetly rub it on the side of my seat. "Draco's been so eager to see you, it's such a shame that you couldn't join us this summer." I'd been invited at the end of last year to the Malfoy Manor, and it had taken every ounce of self-control not to spit at Mr. Malfoy's feet and tell him I'd rather die then be anywhere near him or his son.

"Yes, such a shame." Amos spoke, articulating carefully and keeping the smile on his lips as though he'd frozen it there.

"Perhaps you'd care to join us in the Minister's box, my dear? Narcissa's already seated and she'd be so glad to meet you, I'm sure she'd enjoy the company and a chance to talk about old times." Lucius cocked his head to smile in what I'm sure he thought was a reassuring look. I waited for his forked tongue to dart out of his mouth. Old times. I felt myself tense, I couldn't help it. Cedric found my hand and gave it a quick squeeze. My parents had known the Malfoy's intimately before their untimely deaths. I felt sick to my stomach but somehow managed to keep my smile.

"I wouldn't want to intrude-" I began.

"Not at all, you would be our guest." Lucius inclined his head and held out a hand to help me out of my seat. Ugh. Pushy.

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline, the heights of the Minister's box don't agree my head." Lucius began to laugh as though I'd told an excellent joke and smiled at me, showing his teeth. I saw Cedric wince slightly and Draco's expression lit up.

"The heights? Draco tells me you're one of Ravenclaw's most accomplished chasers, I've actually had the pleasure of watching you play once. A very high flier with a tendency towards steep dives. And besides, my dear, the Minister's box is two rows below this one." Oh no. I'd just painted myself into a corner with my last comment. Damn, damn, damn. I had nothing to say that could get me out of this one. Several comebacks raced through my head, but I decided it was best not to reply by apologizing and explaining that I didn't speak parseltongue . Besides, I wanted to avoid lying.

"Father?" I turned toward Amos, pleading with my eyes. "May I?"

"You know, Lucius, perhaps it's just me being a fusspot; but I think it's probably best if she stayed here. All sorts of things can happen at these matches, dangerous things. If something happened I wouldn't want you to feel responsible for-"

"Very well. Come, Draco." Lucius's stony glare was only for Amos as he turned away. I felt immediately guilty. Looking for a way to save the situation, I put on an apologetic face and called after them.

"Goodbye, Draco. Maybe we'll see each other on the train?" I winced inwardly at his ecstatic expression and Lucius's wolf-like smirk.

"Will we?" He asked, binding me in place with those two words.

"Sure." I tried not to sound depressed.

"See you there." And with that parting phrase, the Malfoy's turned on their heel and marched back down the steps. I collapsed into my seat and groaned, slapping a hand over my forehead.

"Um…Fin?" Cedric asked, his voice sounding strained. "Your hurting me."

"Oh." I let go of his hand. "Sorry, Ced."

"That's okay, I can't really blame you. Slime." He spat in the direction of the stairs. I slumped back into my seat, trying to relax.

"Hey, Dad?" I called back. "You know I love you, right?"

"You two love me too much. Sometimes I just wish you would both tell Mr. Malfoy exactly what you think of him and save me all the effort of keeping up that charade. Talk about old times, honestly. I'd like to hex him for even mentioning the 'old times'." Amos ranted quietly, scowling.

"Shush! That match is about to start!" Someone hissed from behind us and Amos calmed down.

"Hey," I leaned over and whispered in Cedric's ear.

"What?!" He grumbled, already in Quidditch mode. I rolled my eyes.

"Who are you supporting?"

"Bulgaria, of course." He murmured, trying to see around me. His answer surprised me, Cedric idolized Aidan Lynch, the Irish seeker. There was some sort of pleasant music playing in the background, but I wasn't paying attention.

"Ced?" I waved my hand in his face, but he was gazing at something on the field. "What are you ogling at? Hello, Cedric-oh." A row of Veela were dancing along the field and I growled. The notoriously pretty women, singing like siren's, were the Bulgarian mascots.

"Keep your brother in his seat will, you?" Amos asked distractedly, also gazing avidly at the veela.

"My pleasure," I took my hand and cuffed Cedric on the back of his head as hard as I could. He cried out as the music stopped, sitting back to glare at me.

"What was that for?!"

"Don't look at me, it was all Dad's idea. Besides, who are you supporting?"

"Ireland."

"Despite all those fetching veela?"

"Veela? Where?"

"That's what I thought. Ten galleons on the Bulgarian's to win the match." I said quickly, holding out my hand. He grinned at me and slapped the flat of his palm against mine and bumped my fist.

"You're going to lose."

"Kiss my quaffle."

~*~

"YES!! HAHAHA!! In your face!! Those galleons are mine!!" I roared happily doing a victory wiggle in my seat at the amazing feint that Krum had just pulled out of nowhere. Cedric was gaping openmouthed, his face distraught.

"No…oh, you bloody idiot!" Cedric muttered, staring at Lynch's crumpled form. The medic's were now(unfortunately) reviving the Irish seeker.

"Wronski's!! Defensive feint!! Bloody brilliant!!" I laughed, leaning over the bars and clapping enthusiastically.

"He's up!" Cedric cried triumphantly as Lynch mounted his broom, My face fell and I slumped back in my seat, oh bloody hell! Within minutes, the Irish were leading by a hundred to ten. Cedric kept punching the air with his fists, laughing and shouting.

"Come on!" I roared, "BULGARIA!!"

"Stinks!!" Cedric finished my sentence, grinning smugly. Suddenly, there was a cobbing made by the Bulgarian Keeper, Zograf. I winced and sat back, I'd been cobbed before by a keeper, it wasn't pleasant. Especially when that keeper was Flint, from Slytherin. The Leprechauns had leapt up and were forming the words HA HA HA in the air. The veela stood up and I took immediate action, slapping my hands over Cedric's ears."What's-oh, right, thanks…bloody hell, look at Mostafa!" He shouted, a little louder then necessary. I leaned over to see the referee trying to show off for the veela. I snorted with laughter, leaning against Ced's shoulder, tears leaking out of the corner of my eyes. However, the scene quickly took a nasty turn as the Bulgarian beaters landed and started to argue with the referee. Whistles were blown and penalties were awarded. I groaned and watched as the game took yet another vicious turn, Bulgaria was rising the bar for dangerous moves. The veela and leprechauns had launched into an all out battle, both Cedric and I arguing loudly with each other about the state of the game.

"ARGH!!" I roared as a bludger nailed Krum in the face, ignoring Cedric's shouts of encouragement.

"You git!! Mostafa!! He's hit, look at him, forget your stupid broom!" I bellowed, ignoring the rational fact that the tail of the referee's broom had indeed caught an errant fireball from one of the veela. That wasn't important, the only thing that was important now was the fact that Krum was--Lynch!!

"He's seen it!!" Cedric cried excitedly, "Lynch has got it!! He's got the snitch, I tell you!!"

"NO!!" I wailed in despair as Krum dove. "He'll make it!! I know he'll get it…"

"Don't kid yourself…they're going to crash!!"

"No!" Lynch slammed into the ground for the second time and Krum soared, straight up, his hand out and clutching the snitch.

"YES!! YES!! YES!!" I jumped up and down, laughing and dancing. Amos caught my shoulder and pointed to the scoreboard, his expression alight with glee.

"You can yes all you like, love, but have a look at the scoreboard first." I glanced toward the scoreboard and my heart sank. Cedric hugged me to his chest, suffocating me.

"We win!" He sang, picking me up and shaking me. "We win!"

"Yes, you win." I muttered into his shoulder, too excited to be very angry with him. There was something about Ced when he smiled like that…you just couldn't be mad with him. My lungs screamed from lack of oxygen and I shoved him off me. "Cedric! I can't breathe!"

"Ten galleons." He reminded me, laughing all the way back to the tent.

~*~

It must have been early in the morning when I felt someone shaking me, hard. I mumbled something and rolled over, sticking a hand in the offenders face to ward them off. That was the second time in two days that I'd been unceremoniously woken up and I wasn't having it. They literally dragged me out of bed, shouting something all but incoherently in my ear.

"FIN!! YOU HAVE TO GET UP!! Come on!"

"It's too early-" I complained lamely, trying to crawl out of the arms of whoever was holding me.

"It doesn't matter! We have to go-"

"Merlin damn it, Cedric! The bloody sky had better be falling or so help me-" I snarled, opening my eyes and reaching for his neck to throttle him.

"Deatheaters!" Cedric bellowed in my ear, and I was instantly awake. I looked and saw an orange glow rising faintly from the tent flap, screams permeating the night.

"Where's my wand!?" I cried franticly, scrambling around on the beside table desperately before my feet even hit the ground. I felt the smooth wood under my fingers and snatched it up. Grabbing my bangles from the table, I forced them on my wrist and we plunged out into the night.

"What about the Weasley's?!" Cedric asked, his silver hazel eyes fierce as a falcon's in the glowing fire light.

"There's no time!" Amos roared, "Kids! Head for the portkey!"

"Dad!" Cedric shouted, hand so tight on my wrist that the bangles dug tiny furrows in my skin. I pulled at his shoulder, trying to draw him away from the tent.

"I'm going out to help the ministry, I'll be alright." Amos Diggory dashed into the rising smoke from magical fires and I dragged Ced away. I could see the crowd of cloaked figures, laughing with glee at a family of muggles they had caught. They had suspended them fifty feet above the ground where, utterly helpless, they screamed.

"Come on! We have to find the others!" Cedric shouted and we tore off across the campsite, wands out.

"Amos will kill us." I told him, gradually calming the rapid beat of my heart. Ced had a commanding presence and always kept cool in a crisis. He always gave you something to do, a task that lessened the fear.

"What Dad doesn't know cant hurt him." He replied. "Now, where was Ernie camped?"

"Over by the…oh no." I stared in horror at the Irish sect, it's tents in flames.

"FIN!" Cedric grabbed my arm and pulled me behind a tent as a jet of red light tore through where I'd just been standing.

"Cedric!" I gasped, terrified. I was pureblood, I wasn't a target. But I could still get caught in the crossfire…

"No, Fin. It's alright, he got out. We should just keep-" A crowd of people thundered by us, terrified and heedless in their flight. We were suddenly running with them as fast as we could go.

"Don't stop! They'll trample us!!" Cedric shouted as we ran for our lives. People pushed and shoved and jostled and I nearly lost my grip on his hand when I tripped. Someone trod on my ankle and something cracked.

"OW!" I howled, pain lashing through my leg like a serpent. Cedric dragged me to my feet and I leaned heavily on his shoulder as we finally made it to safe cover under the trees.

"Let me see your leg-"

"It's fine." I muttered, leaning back against a tree and holding my broken ankle off the ground. The rush of adrenalin hadn't quite yet run it's course, so the pain was kept to a minimal.

"Fin, let me see it." Cedric demanded and crouched down to examine my injury; the gleam from the fires in the campsites shedding enough light to see by. I shrugged away and took out my wand. Cedric gripped either side of the break and straightened it, I muttered a charm, effectively freezing it in place.

"Thanks." I breathed, tentatively putting weight on it. The charm held and we took off into the woods, lighting our wands and searching for the others. I used his shoulder to balance myself and hobbled along, trying not to break the spell that held the broken bones in place. We'd barely gone a hundred yards when I spotted Cho Chang, stumbling through the wood with a pack of girls from Ravenclaw.

"Cedric!" She cried, and flung herself at him. She practically knocked him backwards with her enthusiasm and I abruptly lost my balance and fell. She was all over him, hugging herself tight to his chest.

"Hello." He mumbled, embarrassed by the greeting.

"Oh, sorry, Findabhair. I didn't see you." She spoke over her shoulder as I struggled to get up. Anger flared through me at her callous dismissal. I'd never really liked Cho Chang. She was so caught up in the enigma that was herself she barely spared a glance for other people. The only reason I paid her any attention at all was the fact that Cedric fancied her and she was the seeker for our Quidditch team. She was a pretty good player, too, when she wasn't eyeing her reflection in the goal post. The girl was as shallow as a teaspoon.

But she was beautiful, I couldn't hold a candle to her. Her raven dark hair was so black it was almost blue, smooth as silk and flowing down to her waist. Her skin was olive dark, her brilliant almond eyes slanted up slightly, and she was petite and delicate. She was the picture of perfection, a demigoddess.

She made me look…well, she made me _feel plain._

"_FINDABHAIR! Isn't this awesome!?" There was no mistaking that voice, or that attitude. I looked up into the face of my best friend, Valerie Stanley. Long, chocolate brown hair fell to her waist, sea green eyes glinting mischievously. Her muggle-outfit was impeccable(If somewhat too 80's) on her buxom figure, a result of her muggle-born heritage. She was the last person who should be thinking this was in any way awesome. But that was her, reacting the opposite of what you would expect. "Oh, what are you doing on the ground?"_

"_Valerie…what are you doing, hanging out with this lot?" I lowered my voice, glancing at the Ravenclaw girls. Some of them were alright, but this bunch were some of the most stuck up around. We didn't usually pal around with the Ravenclaw's most popular sect._

"_Here for Cho's thing because my Mum didn't know how to get tickets, so I'm stuck with them." She murmured, changing the subject quickly when she saw my leg. "What happened to-"_

"_Got stepped on, don't worry about it. Hey, Ced-" I called, turning to eye the commotion that meant the ministry wizards had finally corralled the last of the death eaters. "I think we should get a little further into the woods, just in case a couple of them bolt for the portkeys instead of just disapparating." _

_I had barely finished speaking when a green flash lit up the sky, burning a mark into the night above us. My tattoo burned under the bangles and I yelped, scratching at it with my fingers. Cries went up all through the woods. The Dark Mark. I pretended I didn't see the other girl's casting curious glances to see why I was now furiously scrubbing at my wrist. Few people knew about the mark I had who weren't intimately involved in what had been the inner workings of Voldemort's following._

"_Ow, bloody hell!" I swore as Valerie peered over my shoulder anxiously._

"_The others are starting to stare, Fin." She whispered in my ear and I looked up. Cho Chang still had her arms around Cedric's neck, but she was staring at me like I'd grown fangs._

"_Bug bite." I shrugged, brushing the bangles back over the mark hurriedly and trying to ignore the ghastly, itching burn that was traveling up my arm. "Calamexo." I whispered, tapping my forearm. OW! The burning feeling flared and I winced._

"_CHO!? Hello!? Girls?!" A panicked voice issued from behind us and I turned, hopping slightly on my injured leg._

"_We're over here, Mrs. Chang." Valerie called, rolling her eyes. The Chang's had traveled with a group of the Ravenclaw girls as a sort of 'girls night out' thing for Cho, I'd been invited but declined. A trip with the 'girls' meant an endless barrage of: "So, when are you and Malfoy going to announce your dating?" or "What do you think of the Weasley twins?" and, my personal favorite, always asked very casually, "How's Cedric?"_

"_Cho's with you?" Mrs. Chang called, and I saw the beam of light from her wand as she walked toward us. Cho quickly released Cedric like he'd burned her and ran gracefully to her mother. I snorted at Cedric's crestfallen expression. _

"_Oh…hello, Findabhair." Mrs. Chang smiled at me warmly, her eyes crinkling at the corners with genuine welcome. "Are you having fun?"_

_It seemed an out of place question to ask at the moment. Did I have fun? Yes, before the Deatheaters started burning tents, I was having the time of my life. Was I having fun now, surrounded by girls I didn't particularly get along well with, about to gnaw my own arm off to stop the burning pain that was driving me to distraction and standing on one leg like a post owl because some git had trampled me? Loads of fun, thanks. I was about to answer her when I heard a loud bang and someone shoved me._

_The force of whatever spell had blasted through sent me sprawling, someone fell on top of me and the straightening charm on my ankle broke. Red spots dazzled my vision and I gasped in pain. Mrs. Chang was shouting and everyone was running again, scrambling out of the way as a five tall figures apparated and ran, holding their masks over their faces as they ran to the portkeys. Someone shoved my head down as they scrambled to get back up._

"_OH, NO YOU DON'T!! THAT'S MY SON!!" Amos's voice was unmistakable as it boomed and a flash of red light illuminated the clearing. Cedric! I struggled to move out from whoever had fallen on top of me, ignoring the pain in my leg. _

"_Cedric!" I called, squirming._

"_Yeah?" He asked, voice close to my ear. "Stop moving, you keep kicking my legs out from under me."_

_My voice changed abruptly from filled with panic to filled with exasperation._

"_Cedric, get off me before I hex you!" He clambered off me apologetically and helped me up._

"_Oh, there you are!" Amos had come running back to us, pushing past the others. Anticipating a warm greeting, I pushed off Cedric's shoulder so I could lean against a tree. Sure enough, Amos swept him up in to a bone crushing hug. I smiled as I watched Ced start to turn blue and struggle in his Dad's grasp. I was used to Amos's exuberance, he loved Ced more then anything else in the world. I played a comfortable second fiddle in the Diggory family. As an orphan, I was happy to be playing any instrument, frankly. Amos and Fiona didn't consciously notice it, so I never mentioned anything to them. They were too kind, and I'd never been one for showy emotional episodes._

"_Findabhair!" My breath was forced from my lungs by Amos's hug. "Are you both alright?"_

"_Yeah…we're fine." Ced was still trying to catch his breath as he spoke, gasping a little. "Fin, she did something to her leg-" Amos had released me in an instant, and was fussing over my ankle. _

"_No, really, I'm okay." I grumbled, trying to make a couple of escape hops in the other direction._

"_Stay still." Amos hissed and I felt like an owl again, holding out my leg obediently as he examined it. He pulled out his wand and muttered something and the pain disappeared. _

"_Did you catch any, Dad?" Cedric asked eagerly as I looked at my leg. The pain was gone but the breaks remained._

"_We'll get you some potion from the medi-wizards for that." He told me, looking over at Cedric and shaking his head. "No, they just managed to get there in time. It's a wonder they didn't all just apparate. Come on, we're going straight home tomorrow, as early as possible."_


	2. Chapter 2

_"We are bits of stellar matter that got cold by accident, bits of star gone wrong."_ **~Sir Arthur Eddington**

I sighed, sinking into a slight depression at the thought of summer holidays ending today. Cedric, however, was in the best of moods and was now attempting to cook breakfast. I wondered vaguely whether or not he'd gotten a hold of a bad licorice wand in the last two hours. I trudged down the stairs and yawned, going out to the mud room to let the dog in.

Stupid animals, dogs. I'd much rather we have a cat, but Cedric loved the filthy creature. I heard loud barks and yowls from behind the door. Wearily I shrugged on my raincoat and prepared myself for the onslaught. Balian gave a dubious hoot of disapproval and fluttered out the window, reluctant about the fact I was letting in his arch-nemesis.

"Go on, you bloody cowardly feather-duster!" I grumbled, glaring after the elderly and somewhat useless owl. Taking a deep breath, I flung open the door. Bludger barreled into me with the force of a giant, muddy, wet rhinoceros.

"AAAH! BAD DOG! GET OFF!" I was knocked backwards and the giant pink tongue slimed me from my chin to my eyebrows. Huge black paws pinned me to the tile and I writhed and yelled as I was attacked by a mercilessly foul smelling wet mutt. I heard laughter as Cedric came into save me, heaving the giant Irish wolfhound off of me.

"Good boy, Bludger! Sit." Cedric laughed, stroking the dirt matted fur. The dog obeyed without a second thought, colossal tail whipping me in the face. "Here, Fin."

"Stupid dog, should have left you outside and gone with Balian." I groaned loudly as Cedric hoisted me up under the arms and brushed me off. Bludger whined and lay down, resting his head on his front paws and giving me a contrite look.

"He loves you, Findabhair! Of course he's going to jump on you." Cedric was still beaming as I shrugged out of the rain coat and hung it back on the coat rack. Suddenly, Bludger bounded up.

"NO! UGH!" I dove behind Cedric as the monster shook and splattered muck everywhere. Ced was still laughing at me as we walked back into the kitchen.

"I want a cat." I muttered, scrubbing myself with a sponge.

"But cat's don't care like dogs do. And they're not very nice." Ced argued, flipping a pancake in the pan. I glared at him in disgust, he was covered in mud from head to foot.

"What?"

"Cats clean themselves." I hissed, rolling my eyes and turning back to the dishes. The only warning I got was one foot squelch before Cedric scooped me up in a hug.

"AHH! Yuck!" I shrieked as he smeared my face with mud and dog hair. He even rubbed his mud splattered cheeks against my shoulders. I finally shoved him off and looked down at my once pure white pjama's and then glowered back at his smiling face. My eyes narrowed and I lifted the sponge.

"Oh no, Fin-" I tackled him, knocking over one of the kitchen chairs. I slapped him upside the head and shoved the sponge into his mouth. "ECH! Blah!"

I jumped off him before he could recover and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me and taking my time in the shower to be just that much crueler. I leapt out and got dressed, running back down the stairs and into the living room, where Amos had stuck his head in the fireplace and was now having a loud and rather frantic conversation with Mr. Weasley about a hysterical auror who had started hexing everything in sight at his home and had arisen the suspicions of the local police.

"--so they went and called those what-d'you-call-'ems--please-men."

"Police, Dad, police men." I corrected, flopping down on the couch.

"Right, yes, so the polish men-""POLICEMEN!!" Cedric and I bellowed in unison.

"Yes, thank you both very much!!" Amos roared back, face turning slightly red as he stuck his head back in the fire again. Cedric vaulted over the back of the couch and held out a plate to me. He was absolutely spotless.

"How did you get clean?" I gasped, outraged.

"There's more than one way to skin a cat. I asked Dad to do a cleansing spell." He shrugged, smirking.

"Your despicable." I growled as he dragged me into a headlock. "Get off me, you stupid dog."

"I rest my case, cats aren't very nice." Cedric laughed.

"Okay, smartarse, where's the rest of breakfast?" I grumbled, setting the plate of eggs down on the coffee table.

"Hey Dad-" Ced began and Amos flicked his wand over his shoulder in a deft movement.

"Accio, breakfast!" He called, pausing in his conversation to summon our breakfast. Two plates of breakfast and a jug of apple cider flew past me and landed neatly on the coffee table in front of us.

"Cedric, you lazy bum…what? No cups?" I asked, reaching over and taking a piece of toast. Cedric shrugged and guzzled right from the jug before handing it to me with a grin. I took a sip from the spout, closing my eyes and drinking deeply. Suddenly, the jug was pushed forward sharply and I gulped just a little too deeply.

"Cedric!" I coughed, trying to clear my lungs of cider. "You…stupid…git! Now I have to get clean all over again!"

"There now! Both of you, act your age!" Amos slapped me on the back and right into a cup of soft-boiled egg yolk. Things just went downhill from there. Cedric burst into a helpless fit of mirth and I snatched up the egg cup and poured yolk all over his face. "OI!!"

"Ow, ow! Dad, gerroff me!"

"Take that!"

"HEY!"

"Now, stop it with the egg or I'll-" But we never heard what Amos would do to us, because at that exact moment, my wind milling arms hit the plate that Cedric was ready to mush into my face and it came down, syrup and egg and all, on Amos's head. Ced and I sat there for a minute in shock, staring at his livid face. And then, he burst out laughing. We joined in falling back against the couch and howling. Cedric was covered in scrambled egg, I leaned against his shoulder and tried to catch my breath.

"Alright you two, go up to your rooms and get your trunks, chop chop. Clean up while your there, too."

I dragged my trunk down the narrow center aisle, searching for my friends. I saw a couple, just random people that I knew but didn't really pal around with too often. Cedric had found Ernie and the two were chattering back and forth about their holiday. I was looking for my closest friends: Valerie Stanley and Jedda 'Nyx' Estrella. Val usually stood out from the crowd, her habit of perpetually wearing a denim jacket over her robes; carrying a shoulder bag for her school books with a large peace sign on the top flap and dotted with pins that read things like: 'God, please save me from your followers' and 'Don't walk in my footsteps, I walk into walls' made her easy to spot. Calling her name out loud never had any effect, because she always wore a pair of earbuds, small things that allowed muggles to listen to music. They looked painful and definitely played music(loudly).

Jedda was a little less conspicuous and conformed to the dress code, though often wore a little more black then necessary. She oozed sarcasm from every pore and pissed off more people then she pleased(I think it was her goal in life), but she was handy in a scrap and provided some excellent comebacks for when Cho showed up. Plus, sarcasm and pessimism had their perks.

"Hey, Findabhair!" Somebody called and I looked up and smiled. Bingo.

"Hey, Val!" She leaned her head out a compartment and beckoned to us. I looked back over my shoulder and called to Ced and Ern. "Are you guys coming?"

"Sure…just a sec…" Cedric said vaguely, looking over his shoulder at something. I rolled my eyes and entered Val's compartment. A familiar rush of happiness coursed through my being at the faces I saw: Oliver Wood was grinning at me and stood up to help me with my trunk as Jedda looked up from her seat closest to the window. She gave me a quick smile and a once over before returning her attention to the scenery. Fred and George were playing a two man game of exploding snap in the corner and waved.

"FIN!!" Val swept me into a hug so tight I thought several of my ribs were going to break. Her cat, Dash, meowed from where he lay curled atop her trunk, black and white body in contrast with the brown leather.

"Easy! AH! Too much love!" I gasped, trying to claw my way out so I could help Oliver with my trunk. "Oh, wait! Here, I can-oh, thanks, Oliver."

"No problem." He grinned down at me as Val released her vice-like grip on my midsection. I went to take my seat before being waylaid by Oliver

"What? Don't I get a hug?" He asked, feigning offense. I rolled my eyes and held out my arms, sighing as though it was a tremendous chore. He grabbed me in a bone-crushing embrace and lifted me off the ground.

"OW! Help! I'm being mauled." I struggled hard but was no match for him. He laughed and set me down gently on my feet. "I hate being weak and little…" I muttered, brushing myself off.

"Oh, your not that weak." He joked, beaming at me. Aw, Oliver was so cute sometimes. I turned to Jedda and spread my arms wide. She gave me a look like I was insane.

"Oh, come on Jedda, I haven't hugged my emo yet today!" I complained.

"I don't do hugs." She said darkly, turning back to the window.

"Is there room?" Cedric poked his head around the corner and I inhaled sharply. I hadn't counted on Oliver and Fred and George being in here. That was kind of the kiss of death as far as Cedric was concerned. There was no love lost between the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor Quidditch teams.

"Does there look like there's room, pretty boy?" Jedda glared at him. I smacked her hard, ignoring her swearing and complaining.

"There's plenty of room." I said loudly and stomped on Fred's foot to shut him up.

"Yeah," George breathed. "If you're a midget."

"What's the hold up…oh." Ernie blanched when he saw Oliver glaring at him. Macmillan was a sweetheart, but Oliver Wood scared the crap out of the poor kid.

"I think we'll just be going." Cedric muttered darkly and stepped out. I made a soft noise of protest in the back of my throat as he left. He poked his head back in and smiled at me apologetically . "We'll just be down a few compartments, Fin. Don't worry."

"I wasn't worried." I rolled my eyes and tried to force a casual tone into my voice. I didn't like it when Cedric left me alone for too long. He was the closest friend I had, apart from maybe Val. It wasn't that he couldn't take care of himself, it just…made me nervous, I guess.

"Sure." He returned my eye roll and closed the door behind him. I sighed and leaned back against the seat, Valerie giving me one of her odd, pensive looks.

"What?" I asked, realizing everyone else was also giving me that same look.

"Nothing." Fred and George said quickly and resumed their game of exploding snap. Jedda shrugged her shoulders and looked back out the window. Oliver just made a kind of frustrated snorting noise and changed the subject:

"How was your summer? I asked you to write me." He gave me an offended look. I sighed, I'd forgotten how easy it was to hurt Oliver's feelings.

"I'm sorry, Olive." I used his nickname. "I didn't have a lot of time to write and Balian's been really finicky about delivering messages lately…" It was as good an excuse as any, Cedric's tawny owl had been suffering from some kind of owl amnesia recently. He'd get halfway to his destination and forget where he was going. It meant the only chance I got to send letters was if somebody sent me an owl first.

"You still have that mentally retarded owl?" Jedda asked me, snickering.

"Be nice! Balian's a senior citizen." I defended the elderly owl and gave Oliver an apologetic look. "Can you forgive me?"

"I forgive you." Oliver didn't even think about it for a moment, his expression transforming into an odd little half-smile. I returned the shy grin warmly, he really was a great guy. Fred looked up from his cards and elbowed Oliver in the gut.

"Hey, Oliver? How's Katie?" He said loudly and Oliver shook his head as though waking up from a dream. Katie Bell, Oliver's off-and-on girlfriend, didn't like me. In fact, that was an understatement, Katie loathed me.

"Katie? Oh, she's good, I guess. We haven't talked much over the holiday, she's mad at me." He shrugged offhandedly, answering Fred but still looking at me. But before I could ask him why Katie was mad at him, the door of the compartment burst open and Summerby stood in the doorway, a breathless and agonized expression on his face.

"They're…they've…IT'S DIABOLICAL!!" He roared, waving his hands madly through the air to emphasize his point.

"What's going on? Who did what? Slow down." I said calmly. The last time I'd seen him this outraged was when he couldn't find the ketchup last year around dinner time. The phrase to make a mountain out of a niffler hole could not be a more accurate way to describe the guy.

"They've…they've…! THE VILLIANOUS, EVIL, CRETINS!!" He spluttered, grabbing me by the front of my robes. Fred looked up, an almost bored expression on his face.

"Did they forget to stock licorice wands on the trolley again, Summerby?"

"It's worse!" He hissed, his hands still holding fistfuls of my sweatshirt and shaking me for emphasis. No licorice wands? Oh boy, the sky must really be falling this time. Not.

"Spit it out before I hex your mouth shut." Jedda groaned, pulling out her wand.

"They…CANCELED QUIDDITCH!" He spat, shaking me hard.

"No, they didn't." Oliver scoffed confidently. "Someone's just messing with you, Summerby. Calm down before you hurt yourself."

"I know what I'm talking about, Wood! Don't tell me to calm-" He got distracted for a moment by someone in the hallway. Another great thing about Summerby: He has--in the immortal words of Roger Davies, Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain-- "The attention span of a niffler and the I.Q. of a flobberworm!".

"Yeah, what?" He called, halfway out the door. "Coming!"

"Oomf." I fell back on the seat, nearly upsetting the ink bottle Val had placed precariously on her knee.

"What if they did cancel Quidditch this year?" I asked, smoothing out my clothes.

"Bill and Charlie were being all wonky about telling us what was going on at Hogwart's this year, but I didn't hear anything about them canceling Quidditch--Oh! Bollocks!" George threw up his hands as his cards leapt up off the table and started to snap and hop loudly.

"I win!" Fred crowed, punching his twin in the shoulder. "You owe me two chocolate frogs!"

"Hey, if they cancel Quidditch it means we have to spend more time together…that'll suck." Jedda said to herself, still watching the trees go by outside the window. We all stared at her aghast. "What?" She asked, a confused expression on her face.

"So," I cut across the moody silence. "What would we be doing if we weren't playing Quidditch?"

"We could take up knitting." Fred tried, shrugging his shoulders.

"Or cross-stitch." George supplied.

"I could throw myself off the Astronomy Tower." Oliver said bleakly, looking a little pale. Jedda looked up and beamed at him.

"Sweet, can I come?"

"I've got a better idea!! OH! OH!"

"Val, you don't have to raise your hand." I laughed, I hadn't realized how much I missed these guys over the holidays.

"We could start a band, eh?! How cool is that!?" Everyone just kind of stared at her for a moment before Fred and George caught on.

"What would we call this band?" Fred asked, looking at his brother.

"Has to be something short and simple…" I brainstormed, pretending to think.

"Um…the…umm…" Val hadn't anticipated a roadblock like this.

"How about: Two Ginger's, A Blonde, One Happy-go-lucky Beatles fan and a Quidditch Buff?" Jedda rolled her eyes.

"Neither short nor simple, my emotional friend. And you forgot the Mopey One Who Dresses in Black." Fred shook his head.

"What would we sing?" I asked, enjoying this new game.

"Na, Nanananana!" Jedda mimicked in a high pop star voice. I cringed as George leapt up with a grin a mile wide on his face.

"It's perfect: The NaNa's!"

"Please tell me your kidding." I groaned as the three boy's launched into a chorus that consisted of nothing but Na, Na, Na. "On second thought, knitting's such a homely little hobby, how about that instead?"

"I really never thought I'd hear a voice more out of tune then yours, Fin." Jedda shouted, her hands clamped over her ears. "I was wrong: I've heard three."

"NA, NA NANANA, NA!!" Fred and George bellowed at the top of their lungs to the Beatle's tune 'Eight Day's a Week' . Valerie joined in, creating a really funky kind of cacophonous harmony. I started to laugh so hard I had to clutch at my stomach to stop the giggling.

"Alright! ALRIGHT!!" Jedda shouted loudly, grabbing her Transfiguration book and beating George over the head with it."Ai! I surrender! I surrender!" The na's stopped abruptly.

"We get it already: NA! Save the torture for the people who can really appreciate the benefits of it." She grumbled, still hefting her book like a weapon.

Less than two hours later, we were all rushing out of the carriages and into the school. The rain came down in buckets and sheeted against the windows as we perched at the edge, ready to leap out and make a run for it.

"Last one inside has to test a skiving sweet!" Fred shouted loudly through the wind, laughing.

"Ready…set…GO!" We flung ourselves out into the inky dark wetness and raced inside, pushing and shoving each other. I leapt into the entrance hall, safe and dry.

"I win!"

"Aw, man!!" Val groaned as I shoved her back out the door playfully. Jedda stepped inside and a look of horror spread across her face.

"RUN!" She and Valerie squealed loudly and dived out of the way.

"What?" I asked as a red water balloon the size of a large pumpkin hit me in the side of the head, soaking me with freezing cold water. "OH!"

"Haha, you LOSE!" Fred laughed as he was nailed by a blue balloon. I shrieked and leapt out of the way of the next one, slipping and sliding on the wet floor as I raced into the Great Hall.

"All wet, Findbahair?" Marcus Flint called to me from across the hall, waggling his eyebrows and licking his lips suggestively. A bunch of Slytherin sixth and seventh year boys burst into peals of mean-spirited laughter.

"Not in the way your thinking, ugly." Jedda shot back, flashing him a very rude sign across the hall. His face fell and a few Hufflepuff's started laughing.

"Yuck." I groaned in disgust and wretched, sloshing over to the Ravenclaw table. Valerie, Jedda and I marched past Cho and her group of friends, the lot of them taking one look at us before bursting into hysterical laughter.

"Argumenti!" I muttered and a jet of water sprayed from my wand and soaked them. People laughed uproariously at their squeals of dismay as we took our seats further along the table.

"Hold onto your pointy hats, baby. We're back in black!" Valerie sang out, doing a little hip-thrust dance.

"Hello." Luna murmured, looking up at us with her large, blue eyes. "How was your summer holiday?"

"Lovely. Yours?" I asked, shoving my wand back in my pocket.

"It was okay, yes."

"Fox! Ah, there you are! Now, I've got this new play I want to speak to you about-" Roger Davies brushed his dark hair back and reached into his bag to fetch a purple clipboard he used for Quidditch whilst walking the fingers of his left hand up my spine suggestively.

"Um…could you tell me later, Roger?" I pleaded, trying to formulate a good excuse to get out of the Quidditch rubbish for now(and meanwhile ducking out of reach of the roaming hands).

"Oh. Alright." He sat back and looked disappointed for a moment before striking up a conversation with Grant, Keeper for our team.

"We'll have to pay for that later." Val groaned, squeegeeing her robes dry by wringing them out.

"Yeah, well, it was bloody worth it to see the look on Cho's haggish face now, wasn't it?" Jedda replied, setting her head on the table with a moan.

"What is it? Stop whining, guys." I laughed, pleased with myself.

"We have to listen to that bloody song before we can eat." Oh. I'd forgotten about the sorting.

"And the midgets have to be sorted." Val sighed and looked over at them, her face lighting up. "OH! They're so adorable!"

"They're a pain in the neck." Jedda argued, glaring at the procession of first year's who skittered by us.

"Adorable."

"Pain in the neck!"

"ADORABLE!!" Val leaned over and bellowed in my ear.

"OW! Okay, okay! Guys, they're an adorable pain in the neck! There!" I mediated, rubbing my ears and looking over at the frightened bunch of midgies. We endured the first part of the song in relative silence, right up until the part about Ravenclaw being the cleverest. Val and Jedda started to snicker audibly and kept jabbing me in the ribs with their elbows.

"Bring back any memories, does it?" Jedda hissed.

"Only of the time you conked your head on the dresser in the dormitories." I replied tightly and tried to ignore their laughter.

"Oh come on, Fin! You remember!"

"I'd really rather not." As a frightened first year, I'd run off and sat at the Gryffindor table and had to wait through the entire sorting to run back to Ravenclaw. The experience had been mortifying and I'd nearly died of embarrassment. It was how I'd met Oliver, actually.

"Oh, first victim." Roger Davies whispered from across the table as a scrawny kid called Stewart Ackerley trembled his way up to the sorting hat.

"RAVENCLAW!!" The hat bellowed and we cheered.

"Oh, look at his ickle littleness! I want to adopt him." Val announced beaming. "Or at least stalk him."

"Every single year we pick a first year friend. Why do we do this?" I groaned as the little kid went to go sit down. Cho leaned out and beckoned to him. "Uh oh."

"He's going to the dark side." Jedda muttered ominously.

"Run away, run away…oh, another one bites the dust." Val sighed in defeat as poor Stewart Ackerley was swept up into the clutches of Cho Chang.

"Aw, well. Look, there's plenty of others up there." I pointed and we settled back to watch the rest of the kids being sorted. A Slytherin, two Hufflepuff's, a Gryffindor, another Slytherin and…

"RAVENCLAW!" Orla Quirke leapt off the stool and rushed towards our table.

"Quick, get her!" I hissed and Val reached out and literally snagged the little kid by her pig tails.

"Hey! Come sit with us, short stuff!" She cried as I shuffled over to make room for Orla. Jedda reluctantly moved over and heaved a tremendous sigh.

"Welcome to Ravenclaw, Orla!" I cried, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "I'm Findabhair, this is Val and Jedda. The great tosser across from me is my Quidditch Captain, Roger Davies. That over there is Luna Lovegood and-"

"FOOD!" Jedda lunged for her plate with the ferocity of a starved lioness and tore at her dinner. Orla uttered a terrified squeak and clung to Valerie's shoulder in horror.

"It's okay, that's just Jedda." I said, scooping food onto the little munchkins plate. "There. Eat."

After a minute or so of food, I forgot entirely about little Orla Quirke and concentrated all of my efforts on trying to stuff myself with chocolate gateau and haddock. The warm, rich foods hit my stomach and made me feel better. My robes had started to dry by the time Dumbledore began to chatter. I never listened to much of what he said, because the majority of it really didn't concern me. Instead, I just entered stupor mode while he nattered on about Filch banning fanged Frisbees and the like.

"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year." I choked on my mouthful of pumpkin juice and started to cough loudly. WHAT?!

"Anapeo! Easy Fin! Breathe!" Val was rubbing my back in tiny circles as I gasped for breath. Roger was staring at me with a look of fixed horror.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy-but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts--" There was a deafening crack of thunder as the doors to the Great Hall burst open and a figure staggered inside. At the exact same moment, something small clung to my shoulder, shaking in terror.

"Bloody hell, has the entire world gone mad?!" Roger snapped, his mouth still hanging open. "Its the bloody apocalypse. Findabhair, marry me!"

"What?!"

"If the worlds over I don't want to die alone!"

"Blooming heck! Say blooming heck! There are tiny ears present!" Val snapped and walloped him over the head as we watched the hunch-backed figure loom into view. Val turned, saw him, and blurted:

"What the hell happened to him?"

The man's face was horribly disfigured, features distorted by a map of scars over his face. One of his eyes appeared normal while the other was huge, bulbous, blue, and darting every which way. He moved with un ungainly limp as he gimped over to where Dumbledore stood. Yes, the entire world had gone mad. I knew that man, I'd heard of him. Mad-eye Moody, ex-auror and, by the looks of things, our new DADA teacher. On top of that, it appeared that they were going to reinstate the Triwizard Tournament. Joy.

"A thousand bloody galleons! Can you believe it?" Val waved her arms ecstatically as we trudged towards our common rooms.

"That's a lot of galleons." I muttered distractedly as I returned Cedric's wave.

"This tournament thing, sounds great, doesn't it?" She tried once more to recapture my attention.

"Uh-huh." I nodded, busy thinking about how much Amos was going to beg Ced and I to submit our names. It did sound great. But I didn't like the sound of those two words: death toll. But why was I worried? Just because we would submit our names doesn't mean we would be picked. Valerie, who'd stayed with me thus far, suddenly lost interest.

"Hey! Hey! Anthony!" She caught up with a sandy-haired, leggy boy.

Moments later, I mounted the tight spiral staircase, reveling in the dizziness that accompanied the walk up to the Common Room. It was the highest point in the entire school, and undoubtedly the most beautiful. I could hear the buzz of voices behind me, a dull rumble in the back of my mind.

"I…hate…these…stairs." Orla Quirke gasped, staggering along behind me. I smiled a little, turning the last spiral and nearly tripping over Valerie, who was slumped against the wall panting and grinning at Anthony Goldstein, who looked near death.

"I beat you…up the stairs! Squirt…" Val gasped, her expression fiercely triumphant. Anthony muttered something very rude and I kicked him on my way by, reaching up to pull the knocker.

"We come at night without being called and We are lost in the day without being stolen. We are?" The eagle head asked.

"We are the stars." I answered

"Very wise," The door swung open to allow us inside. I sighed, dragging myself over to the stairway that lead up to the Dormitories. Val pushed by me and took a nosedive into the couch, grabbing a pillow and kissing it.

"I'm HOME!" She shouted, voice muffled by the cushion.

"Hey! Wait up!" Jedda Estrella cried from behind me, snatching a hold of my robe sleeve and jerking so hard she nearly pulled me off the bottom step.

"Ow!" I laughed, jerking my sleeve out of her grasp and slowing my pace so she could catch up.

"Wait for me…" Valerie panted, clutching her bag and stumbling forward. I reached around and grabbed the strap from her, slinging it over my other shoulder. "Oh, thanks!"

"No problem…" I answered, trying to get up the stairs before Cho and Marietta showed up. We dragged ourselves up to the topmost girls dorm room and I opened the door with a foot, walking inside to drop my stuff in the middle of the floor.

I sighed, it was like coming home. This was definitely the best room in the Ravenclaw House. The ceiling was a glass dome which had a blind that could be pulled over it during the day and the west side of the circular room had a huge window framed by blue velvet curtains. In the evening, I could watch the sunset from my bed. I'd heard that the other common rooms had four-poster beds, but the Ravenclaw's had loft beds and hammocks. It was perfect, just like it had been the night of my sorting. At first, I'd been a little disappointed that Ced hadn't been sorted into the same house with me. But then, I'd met Val and Jedda…

* "Who is that poster of?" I asked, scrunching up my nose in disgust.

"Jim Morrison, he's a muggle singer. Well, he was…I mean, he's dead." The girl from below me said, swinging back and forth in her hammock. She hadn't been able to decide what she wanted more, bed or hammock, and had ended up lying with her head and the better part of her upper body in the hammock and her legs resting on the bed. She wore a denim jacket over her school robes. Her eyes seemed to also be in disagreement, neither blue nor green but something that comprised a little bit of both. Russet brown hair hung down over the edge of her hammock and she looked up at me and grinned.

"I've never heard of him." I said, shrugging my shoulders from where I perched in the loft bed. She stared at me aghast before grabbing her socks and throwing them at me.

"Never heard of Jim Morrison? Do you live in a box?"

"No, are you a muggle born?" I asked, dropping the socks back on her.

"I'm Valerie Stanley, are you a witch?"

"We both are."

"Yeah, but were your parents-?"

"Both my parents were magical, I'm pureblood." I replied, feeling a little proud of myself and at the same time a little snotty.

"Inbred blue blood." Someone coughed from across the room and I looked up to see a pale-skinned girl perched on the window seat, her long dark hair falling to her waist. She looked up at me and grinned.

"Just kidding, my name's Jedda. Jedda Nyx Estrella. And I have heard of Jim Morrison." *

Of course, Jedda and Val weren't my only roommates. Danica Phaup, Olydia Meo and Anastasia Jidget also slept in the lovely tower dorm with us. Regardless, Jedda and Valerie were still the most vocal of the lot.

"We've got a load of classes tomorrow…" Jedda complained loudly, holding our schedules in one hand and brushing her teeth. "CMC, DADA, double Potions…WHAT!? Val, your taking double divination? Why?"

"I get to space out in that class, you know, predict cloudy weather using a crystal…sleep. Besides, it's great up there, bloody reeks of incense." She sang out cheerfully, knitting something at warp speed.

"Yeah, but we take it with the Slytherins!" I pointed out, pulling on my pj's.

"The Slytherins are HOT." Anastasia purred, stretching out on her bed and looking up at me thoughtfully. "Hey Fin, has Draco-"

"Don't even go there." I groaned and threw an arm over my head, rolling over. "I will never date Draco Malfoy, no matter how much Lucius would pay me."

"Wouldn't have to pay me." She grinned lustfully and winked at me.

"I think we all know that Fin's destined for one person and one person only-" Danica began, an all-knowing smirk on her face. "Hogwarts official pretty boy, Cedric Diggory."

"Not this again." I grumbled, rolling my eyes at her.

"Cedric is not a pretty boy," Jedda grumbled. "He's a prat."

"Yes, but he's _Fin's_ prat, which means we treat him with the respect he deserves." Val replied, arranging her records. I'd learned about Muggle music players from two drastically different views: The CD and The Record(basically: Jedda and Valerie). CD's were apparently more current and held the best types of music, if you were talking to Jedda. Record's were older and bigger, less shiny and played music I found mildly nauseating(Don't tell Valerie). The concept of how they actually worked remained a mystery to me, something to do with how a CD needed light and a record a needle…or something. The only way these players worked at all within the walls of Hogwarts was Jedda's father, whose connections to the Department of the Containment of Muggle Electronics provided a counter spell so we could still listen to music, an exclusive privilege.

"Yes, but that's when we have free period!" Jedda grumbled and turned to look at me. "Have you got free period then as well?"

"I dunno…" I muttered, climbing into bed. I had the higher bed closest to the huge window, Val slept right below me.

"What? How can you not…oh right, I've got your schedule…let's see…Yeah! You've got it free! We'll head to the library tomorrow then." She said, jettisoning our schedules to the trash.

"Right." I muttered groggily, rolling over in bed and turning out the light. I waved my wand at the blind and it dissipated like smoke, letting moonlight spill it's silvery glow over the room. Jedda hissed at Olydia to put out her lamp and she did.

"Whoa." Olydia muttered, staring up at the magnificent view of the heavens we had from here. I sucked in a deep breath and lay on my back, gazing up at the glorious sight of the spiraling constellations, tracing them with a finger. Each star glittered like a little diamond set in navy blue velvet. It was so calming, so utterly tranquil. It made me think of flying, imagining the kiss of cool air against my skin. I sighed deeply, falling asleep to dream of sparkling skylines and fluttering wings.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hagrid, what the heck is this?" Ernie held up what looked like a slimy, deformed lobster. It's legs flailed hideously and he yelped and dropped it back in it's crate. I definitely didn't need this as one of my first classes back to school. Hagrid rubbed his chin and eyed him with what looked like an enthusiastic expression.

"There jus' skrewts, yer goin ter feed 'em today."

"It looks like a manticore." Val said, sounding delighted.

"I think it looks like a fire crab." Jedda warily skirted one of the boxes.

"Manticore."

"Fire crab."

"Manticore, duh! Hello, look at the colouring on this thing. It's obviously-" Val argued loudly, shaking a small specimen for emphasis.

"I think it looks like a hybrid." I said pointedly, trying to break up the debate before it go the chance to really develop. Both of them turned to glare at me.

"Yeah? Well, I think you look like a hybrid." Jedda sulked. "Why don't you pick one up if your so brave, huh?"

"Okay." I muttered and picked one up gingerly. It hunched up and sparks flew from the back end, startling me so badly I dropped it. "See? They're fine. Just skrewts."

"Yeah, guys. Why are you so worried, they're just sk-OUCH!" Cedric bellowed and jerked his hand out of the box he'd stuck it into. There was a large burn mark across his palm and he swore, wiping the slime off his hands in disgust.

"Koochie, coochie coo…" Val crooned, her hand stuck in a crate of the things.

"Val!" I caught her hand and shoved my other dragon-hide glove onto it. "There."

"Ow! Ow! Ow! They sting!" Wailed Ernie from beside me, waving his arm in my face. I grabbed it and whipped my wand out of my pocket.

"Stay _still_, Ernie! Stop squirming and let me see it."

"Yes, Doctor O'Brien." He rolled his eyes and Cedric joined in, putting on a face of mock seriousness.

"What are his symptoms?" He asked, trying to keep from smiling as I examined the nasty looking red mark.

"Ha, ha." I placed the tip of my wand near the sting. "Episkey. There, that should do it, as long as they're not poisonous. They aren't, are they, Hagrid?"

"Erm…yer should try 'em with frog liver, see how they do." He muttered noncommittally and shoved a bucket of slimy organs into my hands. Ernie paled down to his last freckle and gave me a frightened look.

"Do you reckon they're poisonous?" Hannah looked over at me nervously.

"We'll find out." Cedric shrugged, pulling on his dragon hide gloves. The box beside him jumped and gave a short bang as one of the skrewts 'blasted off'.

"Why are we trying to keep them alive, again?" Jedda grumbled, dangling one by its legs.

"Careful! You might hurt it." But my worries were unfounded, it appeared. The skrewts were virtually indestructible, even at this young age. After some experimenting, we found that you could effectively drop-kick, tread on, trip over and dangle the skrewt from any of it's many appendages without the thing enduring any notable physical injury. Unfortunately, the same didn't hold true for seventeen-year old witches and wizards.

"OUCH! Watch where your pointing that thing!"

"FIRE! My robes are on fire!"

"My leg! It's suckered onto my leg!" Anthony Goldstein bellowed, kicking weakly. He panicked and began to hop in small, frantic circles. I looked up to see whether Hagrid had noticed yet, but it appeared he was likewise preoccupied with one of the larger, slimier specimens.

"Hang on." Val bent down to look at where the skrewt(we were assuming that the one with suckers were females)had attached herself to Anthony's calf. "It's…um…well…"

"Well what? What's it doing?" He gasped in a alarmed voice as the entire class peered at him with morbid fascination. I was the first one to realize what was going on, but Val beat me to the punch.

"Eh, it's just sucking your blood." She muttered in a bored voice, turning away.

"Well, that's a relief. At least we found out what they eat." Anastasia murmured, dropping a handful of frog liver. Anthony's face went white and he keeled over.

"Well…don't you reckon we should take it off him?" Ernie shrugged, looking at Anthony's prone form.

"Yeah." Jedda nodded, arms folded matter-of-factly.

"We should." Danica said helpfully. I stood there for a moment before sighing and rolling my eyes.

" Well, don't everybody jump up at once." I muttered sarcastically and dug my fingers around the side of the suction cup and plucked it off him. I tossed the skrewt back in it's crate as the bell rang.

"Saved by the bell."

It was hard to get back into the swing of Hogwarts life without Quidditch there to spice up some of the dull studying. Well, don't get me wrong, I mean I'm a Ravenclaw; I was _born_ to learn at a freakishly abnormal level and pace. But sometimes, I just wanted to get out there and fly. My heart yearned for it and every once and a while, I would catch myself staring out the window longingly during transfiguration, or lingering behind during Astronomy just to watch the sky.

"Hey. Hello? _Hey_!" Oliver whispered out the corner of his mouth, still watching Mcgonagall's demonstration on how to conjure objects from thin air. It had a lot to do with visualization and I could practically do it in my sleep.

"Mhm?" I muttered sleepily, blinking once or twice and looking over at him.

"Quidditch. You're itching to go out, aren't you?" He asked, picking up his wand and going through the motions McGonagall had described very vaguely.

"Yeah." I said, a little more awake. "But we can't."

"You underestimate the amazing powers of persuasion I possess. We can go out and practice, we just have to bring Madam Hooch with us." Oliver grinned.

"We?"

"Anyone whose a Quidditch player and shows an interest."

"When?"

"Tomorrow good for you?" I considered this for a moment: I'd actually planned to study tomorrow, but in the light of getting out on a broom….

"Perfect!"

The Tournament was starting to sound kind of interesting, though. I'd read up on the two schools we'd be competing against, Beaux Batons (That means something like 'Beautiful Sticks' in French. It had Roger Davies and Valerie cracking up for hours afterward, lost in the deep and dank recesses of their dirty minds. Oh la la!)and Durmstrang. Apparently, Beaux Batons was an extremely exclusive girls school and very secretive, giving out little information about its where-abouts and student body except what I could glean from leafing through old records of previous Tournaments. Durmstrang( "Right, a little foreign sugar for each sex! Whoop!" Jedda and Roger slapped high fives after hearing my analysis.) was a boys school, located somewhere in Russia. Both were very competitive and seemed a little vicious to me, as far as school contests go. We had quite the rivalry going on between the three of us.

However, despite the excitement that proceeded October 30th, It still frightened me. This was a serious, honest-to-Merlin _competition._ The Tri-wizard Tournament wasn't just a game, and loads of kids had died during it. I wasn't chicken, or intimidated by the thought of being beaten by another school; but the thought of anyone I knew at Hogwarts _dieing _was vile and absurd. It shook me to my core. So when Cedric suggested we enter, you can guess what my reaction was:

"WHAT!?" I shrieked, half in surprise and half because my skrewt(which had gotten noticeably larger over the last month)had decided to charge me. Still shocked by Cedric's desire to compete but desperate for self-preservation, I escaped to the closest and highest point: Cedric's arms.

"OW! Hey, careful! Youch, Fin! No need to leap around like a wet cat…hey, you're clawing me!" He gasped for breath as I gazed down at the disgusting, fleshy-colored, abominable excuse for a lobster/fire crab/manticore. Cedric looked around to make sure Hagrid wasn't looking and drop-kicked the skrewt. It sailed over the garden wall with a chorus of rapid and irritating clickings. Ced yelped and nearly fell over, hopping on one foot as I clung to him desperately. "OUCH! Bugger, bollocks, bugger! I think I've broken my foot!"

"Cedric, you cant be serious!" I exclaimed, ignoring his attempt to distract me and letting him carefully set me down. He held his foot for a moment longer, pretending to examine it. After a few seconds, he looked at me and sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Of course I'm serious! It'll be great, and besides, just because I submit my name doesn't mean I'll be picked." He answered me distractedly, glancing over my shoulder. I turned and saw Ernie trying to fight off three skrewts at once, armed with nothing but his wand and a broom handle. A broom handle which, judging by the scorch marks along it's length, had already seen use in battle. Hagrid stood cheerily alongside, helping Ernie by telling him when it was best to dodge.

"Oh dear." Hannah Abbott muttered, sounding remorseful and yet at the same time in deep concentration over her skrewt. Truth was, we were trying to figure out a way to unobtrusively kill the damn things. The only one who really seemed happy about the arrangement was Valerie who was off 'playing' with Galileio, her own personal skrewt.

"Maybe some kind of poison? Pesticide?" Jedda supplied helpfully.

"Cedric, this competition is _dangerous_! Kids have died during it!" I protested, carelessly throwing a handful of frog liver at a particularly large skrewt. They slapped its soft-shelled back and slithered off as the thing blasted towards Jedda and knocked her on her bum. Val fell to the ground in hysterics, paralyzed by peals of laughter.

"Quidditch is dangerous, too. And you don't worry about that." He muttered, perching on the edge of the stone wall that surrounded Hagrid's pumpkin patch and rubbing his injured foot.

"Horrible deaths, Cedric! It isn't just getting conked on the head with a Bludger, and rarely do people die during a Quidditch match! They don't die like these 'champions' do…" I trailed off, unsure of how to persuade him. He gave me his best unimpressed look and rolled his eyes.

"Aw, Fin. You read too many books."

"I do not read too many books! You _cant _read too many books! Why does everyone always think I'm paranoid?! Why can't-" My voice rose and I'd started waving my arms up and down like I always did when I was agitated. Cedric turned and grabbed my face in both his hands and stared at me intensely.

"Findabhair." He spoke calmly and forcefully. "Breathe."

"But I-" I forgot what I was going to say. An odd shudder wriggled down my spine as I looked back into his grey hazel eyes. It was like staring into two unfathomably deep, silver pools. Wow, Ced was really…handsome. And on the other end of the spectrum, what the _hell_ was I thinking?

"Breathe! You're turning blue, Fin!" He said urgently and I sucked in a giant gasp of air and pulled away. I'd been holding my breath? No wonder I'd been having weird thoughts about just how hot Cedric was, too little oxygen to the brain. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…just…forgot to breathe." I coughed lamely as he started to laugh. A really cute laugh, actually. Argh. More oxygen needed.

"Ar'ight, you lot. I want yer to come down 'ere at ther end of yer lessons each day and take notes on der behavior. An don't yer complain, I eard it all before and it wont do yer no good." He spoke with the air of having given this speech to other classes many times and having met strong opposition.

"No!" Jedda moaned, throwing herself at Hagrid. "Please, have mercy!"

"I told yeh-" Hagrid brushed her off and made shooing motions with his hand. Funny, I didn't even think to complain. What beautiful, silver hazel eyes Cedric had…

"I think I'm going to cry." Ernie said miserably as we walked back up to the castle. Val seemed to be the only one still in high spirits, which was probably because she had the least scorch marks of all of us.

"I think its great. So, what are you guys doing for the tournament?"

"I'm too young." Ernie muttered sullenly, traipsing along after us. Susan Bones kept casting him an interested look out of the corner of her eye and I suddenly wished very much he would notice her.

"I'm in." Cedric said lightly, scuffing his trainers against the grass running his hands through his hair. Wow, he was really attractive. Plenty of oxygen to my brain this time and my Cedric was still gorgeous. _My_ Cedric, I reaffirmed possessively. Just the little things that made him Ced that were making me dance with pleasure inside. Just the little gestures that always had but for some reason were particularly noticeable today-

"Ahem, earth to Findabhair: You're having another one of those absence seizures caused by being hit in the head with a bludger one too many times." Jedda said loudly, jabbing me in the ribs with her elbow.

"Ow," I muttered distractedly and shook my head to clear it. "Yeah?"

"Going to submit your name?" Val asked eagerly.

"No way. I chose life. I mean, I love our school, but I'm definitely not going to risk my life for it. What about you, Jedda?" I thought I saw Cedric make a pained face and felt a teeny surge of regret. Not that I wasn't risking my life, but that I didn't want to do this with him. In a reflexive movement, I set my arm around his waist to comfort him. He leaned into the casual contact and smiled to let me know all was forgiven.

"Nope, not the kind of champion gal, you know?" She replied, trying to unwrap a piece of Droobbles Best Blowing Gum, her entire mind intent on the project.

"Oh, we definitely know that." Cedric teased, looking up as we approached the courtyard. His jaw tensed slightly and his smile became tightlipped.

"Oh, look. It's our escort." Val snickered, waving to Fred, George, Josie Morong and Oliver. They waved back, but kept shooting Cedric annoyed looks. Oh, that was so unfair! On a sudden impulsive daring, I looped my arm through Cedric's and caught a hold of Val's collar, nearly choking her.

"Hey, Gryffindors! Sorry to burst your bubble of Quidditch born resentment, but I think we _clever_ Ravenclaw's can find our own way around." I spoke under my breath and started to drag them off to the castle like I hadn't seen Olive and the rest standing there. It was a rotten thing to do, but we weren't two-year old's. I mean, honestly. And secretly, I wanted Ced to walk me to class.

"Go, Findabhair! Ravenclaw Pride." Cedric laughed quietly as we headed off to Transfiguration.

"Well, it's like we all say-" Jedda began and Val joined in: "Rather a Hufflepuff than a Gryffindor any day!"

"What about Slytherin's?" Cedric asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ugh!" Val and Jedda groaned in unison.

"But still, not as bad as Gryffindor's." I answered, smiling.

"I thought you liked them alright. I mean, they aren't all bad, are they?"

"They think they own the world!" I muttered, mildly irritated. "Then they own you, of course."

"Fred and George sound okay, I mean, I wished they didn't resent me so much." Ced muttered, so close to me his arm kept brushing mine. A strange thrill looped around in my stomach like a cheering charm.

"Cedric, they're being right foul gits. Ignore them."

"I happen to think they've got a point." Jedda murmured quietly, slowly falling behind. Val looked longingly after her and gave me a desperate look, I rolled my eyes and nodded and she skipped off to go join Fred and George.

"You know, Fin…" Ced began slowly and my heart started to leap around in my chest. "I know Gryffindor's really aren't as intelligent or as attractive as your cup of tea, but I wouldn't mind if you dated one. It worries me sometimes, Fin. You're seventeen, very pretty, very smart and you've never had a boyfriend. Not seriously, or anything. But it might make you happier just to have someone there to talk to."

"I talk to you." I answered swiftly and in an annoyed tone of voice. "I don't need a boyfriend, Cedric. In fact, I think it takes precious time away from the more important things in life."

"Which are?" He grinned crookedly and I couldn't seem to remember what was more important than his smile.

"Studies, friendships…classes…"

"Studies and classes are basically the same thing." He laughed. "Look, just think about it. I'll see you later."

"Bye." I waved after him as he took off down the hallway, meeting up with a group of Hufflepuff friends. Someone clapped their hands over my eyes and I felt warm breath on the back of my ear.

"Guess who?"

"Oliver, get off." I groaned and shoved him away, a bit annoyed. He looked a little hurt and I relented. "Want to be partners today?"

"Alright." He shrugged and grinned at me. Oliver was so easy to please.

~*~

"Why do we have to sit out here and wait for them? Isn't it just a little degrading?" I muttered callously, watching as the giant carriage settled down carrying the students from Beaux Batons. It was frigid outside, even wrapped in my heavy cloak and scarf. Sure, a powder blue giant carriage with huge horses. Big deal. I was freezing!

"Aw, Fin. Don't whine so much." Val rolled her eyes, impervious to the cold thanks to her habit of layering clothing even in the warmer months. Jedda was over chatting up her friend Thomas from Durmstrang, also too involved to notice the cold.

"Hello, my foxy darling, what's this? Got a bit of a chill? We'll warm the cockles of your heart, Fin."

"No!" I snapped firmly and ducked under Fred and George's embracing arms.

"Aw, come now! Get yourself all stroppy because the wee little frenchy's…Bloody hell, George! Look at that!" Fred's attention was suddenly diverted as the girls descended the big blue carriage, lead by a woman who was at least eight feet tall.

"Oooh, a Gigiantess!" Orla Quirke squealed, gripping the edge of my robes and peeking around me. I gave her a disparaging look and she released them quickly. She skittered out of the way with a squeak when Oliver stepped up beside me, surveying the carriage with interest."I wonder if they have a Quidditch team? Do you think that Professor Dumbledore would let us-"

"No, Quidditch has been canceled, remember?"

"Cedric!" I squealed gratefully and grabbed him around the waist, snuggling under his cloak where it was blissfully warm. He stood there in surprise for a moment and then wrapped the fabric tighter around me, grinning.

"A little cold, are we?" He rubbed my shoulders and I grinned up at him.

"A little." I allowed, turning so I could watch the procession and clutching the black cloak up under my chin.

"Why didn't you say so? I'm not cold, I could have leant you mine." Oliver said in a hurt voice, glaring at Cedric. I leaned into Cedric's chest and shook my head against his cardigan, reveling in the way his warm, solid chest supported my back. Sweet breath tickling my ear, he gave my middle a little squeeze with his arms.

Instantly, I started to analyze that fractional movement for anything indicative of something more than casual friendship or brotherly love. Sadly, my analytical skills sucked when I was being otherwise distracted by Oliver leaping up and down and cheering madly for the Durmstrang's. I shot him a glare and Cedric rested his chin on the top of my head, palms coming up to cover my ears gently.

"Too loud?" He asked, leaning back gaze into my disapproving expression. I smiled at him and nodded, truly to blissed out. Cedric was warm, Cedric was safe, Cedric was mine. Suddenly his hands came off my ears and he looked up with a grin.

"There's the boyfriend you've been looking for, Findabhair!" He cried out, laughing as he gestured with a nod towards the procession of steely looking Durmstrang boys. What was he talking about…VIKTOR KRUM!?

There was a high pitched scream by my ear and I reeled backwards as Jedda pushed forward at the head of a pack of rabid, screaming fan girls. The display of raging fan-love had the three of us laughing non-stop all the way back to the castle. Ohh, the mileage I was oing to get out of this....

~*~

Our next class was Defense Against the Dark Arts, also with the Hufflepuff's. I wasn't eager to mount the stairs that lead up to what had been Professor Lupin's office last year. Val noticed but kept silent, knowing better than to ask. As an ex-auror, Moody had probably paid more than one visit to my relatives. I shrugged off the feeling of reluctance and tried to concentrate on Cedric's debate about which was worse, Care of Magical Creature's or Potions?

"I think it's CMC, without a doubt." Jedda muttered, obviously still harboring a grudge against the skrewts.

"I like them both," I murmured. "Professor Snape really isn't all that bad, and Hagrid means well."

"Ravenclaw." Cedric muttered, rolling his eyes. I shoved him playfully, laughing.

"Ahem." Moody barked, standing in the doorway to his classroom. I stopped my assault just as Cedric slammed into my shoulder as hard as he could and sent me flying into the banister. Um, ow. Sometimes Cedric didn't realize how roughly he played. I winced and straightened my tie.

"Sorry, Professor." The five of us muttered in unison and trooped calmly into the classroom.

"That was all your fault." I hissed at Cedric. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled goofily.

"Couldn't help it."

Moody strode to the front of the classroom and eyed us, picking up the register. He began to call our names in alphabetical order and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

"Fin, are you okay?" Jedda whispered hoarsely, confused by my behavior. Valerie didn't even bother to ask, she already knew why I wasn't eager for Moody to call my name. My hands shook as I turned the pages of my copy of _Protection Against the Dark Arts: A Comprehensive Guide_. Then, someone reached over and set their hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay, Fin." Cedric whispered softly and gave my shoulder a squeeze. I relaxed automatically and sighed.

"Nodd, Darren."

"Here, sir." Darren squeaked, a terrified expression on his face. I sat up straighter and prepared myself.

"O'Brien, Findabhair." Moody looked up and spotted me instantly, as I knew he would. Apparently, I bore a striking resemblance to both my mother, and he'd certainly have known what she looked like.

"Present." I said clearly and stared back into the odd eyes. He took a moment to call out the rest of the names before throwing down the register and limping to the front of the classroom.

"Well, now that that's over: Curses. This is the year you get to see what these curses do. I dumbed it down a bit for the younger students, made it tamer. But for you, you must know. In a year, you'll be out on your own, facing all kinds of dangers. You need to be prepared and practice CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Some of the other students jumped, but I remained still and watched him.

"So, first up. Tell me what the imperius curse does, Mr. Diggory."

"It manipulates and gives the witch or wizard who uses it total control of their opponent." Cedric murmured, releasing my shoulder and sitting back.

"Ah, now, who can find fault with Diggory's explanation, eh? Any of you? No? Well, essentially, he's right. However, what if the witch or wizard performing the curse was reluctant to control said opponent? Watch." Moody beckoned the rest of the class over. "Diggory, stand up."

"Sir?" Cedric asked uncertainly, standing slowly. I knew what was going to happen before it did and I dipped my head and pretended to pay attention to the marks on my desk.

"Go on, boy, we haven't got all day." I heard a shuffling sound as Moody turned. "You, O'Brien. Stand up and stop skulking. Front of the classroom, both of you."

I grumbled and stood up, walking with Ced to the large open space in front of Moody's desk. Skulking? I hadn't been skulking! Keeping my head high, I stopped and turned, trying to ignore the scuttling sounds of the insects that squirmed about in jars on his desk. Mealy worms wriggled grotesquely, their pale colour reminding me of Moody's scars.

"Now, Diggory. I assume you know the incantation. All of you watch closely to what happens here. O'Brien, give me your wand." Moody shuffled around the desk and held out his hand for my wand. He didn't trust me.

"Why?" I asked before really considering the repercussions of my actions. Moody had limped up to me in a second and was looming over me a scowl on his hideous face. The entire class held it's breath.

"Are you questioning me, O'Brien?" He growled.

"Yeah, looks like it." I snapped, fishing my wand out of my pocket. I tossed it at his feet and it hit the ground with a very empty wooden sound. It wasn't like me to behave like this in front of a teacher, but I didn't like Moody. I couldn't tell you why, I just didn't. "There, Professor."

"I'll see you in my office after class." Moody rumbled and picked up my wand, then gestured to Cedric.

"On with it." Cedric turned to me and raised his wand. His eyes pleaded with me and I saw his lips form a silent 'sorry'.

"Now, normally, I wouldn't allow this. You're to see the spells, not use them. But in this case and for the sake of the lesson, I'm making exceptions." Moody called as Ced straightened his shoulders and raised his wand.

"_Imperio!_" My body instantly felt strange, as though there was another conscience in the back of my brain, another person settling in to take control. It was like an irritating fly, buzzing in the back of my head. Tiny, not very strong at all. I felt the faintest urge to go over and pick up one of the jars that lined the desk, but it was fleeting, less of a compulsion and more of a suggestion.

"Alright, boy. Much harder than it looks, isn't it?" The presence lifted from my brain and I shrugged, folding my arms and staring stonily at the ground. Cedric nodded and tried to return to his seat, but Moody stopped him. "Watch this, boy, wand at the ready."

Moody stepped up in front of me and I tensed, bending my knees slightly. Dear Merlin, what the hell did he want to put me through now? Cedric looked alarmed and I thought I heard someone gasp. Moody took aim at me and I stood still, bravely(or stupidly) awaiting my fate.

"_Imperio_." Oh. That was nice. I felt so…_happy_. So euphoric and couldn't seem to remember what I'd been worried about. In fact, I felt great! It was only when Moody started to yammer on in the back of my brain(which now existed only as a very empty chamber in my skull) that the euphoria began to wear off slightly.

_Pick up the jar…_

My first thought was one of utter complacency. Of course I'd pick up the jar, after all, it was just a few mealy worms. I turned, feeling almost tipsy as I reached for it. And then they wriggled and squirmed before my eyes and I hesitated. No! What was I _doing_?!

_Pick up the jar…pick up the jar…_

If the voice said it, then it was law. I reached out and my fingers touched the smooth glass, feeling the vibrations of their squiggling bodies through the jar. My conviction wavered slightly and the feeling of elation grew, calming my natural disgust.

"Now, there's a similar effect that takes place when forcing the victim to do things they would normally be very strongly opposed to doing. However, very few can really fight this curse. It takes practice. But you see what I'm doing here? Miss O'Brien and Mr. Diggory are close friends and therefore excellent examples to practice with." Moody spoke to the class calmly, still holding the curse at the same time.

_Throw the jar at Cedric…_

I raised my arm dreamily and turned toward my target. What a pretty voice, what a wonderful feeling of happiness…I met Cedric's eyes and pulled my arm back. A jolt went through me as I realized what the voice was asking. NO! The two sides of my brain did battle against one another. Of course I couldn't and would never injure Cedric! The idea was blasphemous…but the voice said-

_Attack him!_

I gasped for breath and struggled, gritting my teeth. Good feelings gone. The happiness had been replaced by an awful pressure, as though someone were squeezing my chest. Stupid thing to do, attack Cedric. No point. I wont, I wont, I wont, I wont-

"See? She's fighting me a bit here-" I'd rather do anything than hurt Cedric. I'd rather hurt _myself_.

_ATTACK HIM NOW!!_

The pressure was unbearable and my brain short-circuited. I wanted the pressure gone, no matter the cost. The next thing I was aware of was considerable pain. I had lunged sideways and thrown myself into Danica's desk with some harebrained idea that I was going to somehow incapacitate my left arm(which had decided to listen to Moody's voice against the rest of my body's better judgment) by pinning it down. The jar flew out of my unruly hand and smashed against the wood at Moody's feet.

"UH!" My classmates shoved their chairs back to get away from the creatures as Moody cackled.

"Now, you see? Young O'Brien-yes, Diggory, you can help her up- tried to fight that imperius curse. And, in the end, she ended up injuring herself to avoid completing the task of attacking her foster-brother. Next time, O'Brien, I think a less martyring approach would be better. Perhaps simply dropping the jar would have done the trick. Any questions? Yes, Pendleton."

"How many people can actually fight that curse, Sir?" Danica asked, leaning around my still prone body. I groaned and rolled over, clutching my left shoulder as the feeling came back to it."Very few, and it's uncomfortable to do so." Moody replied shortly as Cedric helped me off the desk.

"You did okay, Fin. Don't worry." He said consolingly, patting my injured shoulder.

"Ow!" I moaned.

"Oh! Sorry!" Pain shot through my left side and I winced as I stood up. Ugh. All feeling of rebellion gone, I just wanted to drag myself back to my seat. I slumped wearily against my desk and tried to ignore the pain that radiated through my entire body. "Many of you, I'm sure, would perform that same curse and yield no results, much like Diggory. What makes the curses so lethal is their _intent_. That's what it all boils down to: A witches or wizards intent. Of course, aptitude makes up maybe 25% of it. The rest is all intent. For example, O'Brien, answer me this: Who would be the hardest for you to perform this curse on apart from Diggory?"

"Nobody. I don't ever intend on performing it, do I?" What the hell was I doing? Snapping back at a teacher like this?

"Answer the question!" Moody growled and glared down at me. I was silent for a moment more before Cedric kicked my chair.

"Estrella." I grumbled, lifting my head off the surface of the desk briefly.

"I'd love to be able to say the feeling was mutual, but you know..." She chuckled from beside me and I rolled my eyes.

"Are you all taking notes? Go on, the lot of you! Take out a piece of parchment and write this down!" Moody moved on and I was left alone for the duration of the lesson, my round of trials and humiliation up for now. The bell rang and I awkwardly shouldered my bag and turned to leave, grateful that the period was over.

"O'Brien." The gravelly voice rumbled from behind me and I stopped, sighing.

"Do you want us to wait?" Ernie asked me. I almost nodded, but at the last second looked up to see Cho and Cedric chattering back and forth as they left the room. Cedric looked thrilled and excited that she'd come to talk to him(Right outside his class, what a coincidence! Not.).

"No, don't wait up, Ern. I'll live." I murmured gloomily and marched forward to meet my fate. Moody waited until the last student had straggled out and shut the door behind them before he began.

"Your parents both had exceptional talent with magic, you know. I've heard from many professors that you've inherited their skill." That was odd, I hadn't expected compliments. Or were they just pleasantries before he gave me a months worth of detentions? "However, pureblood's, as a general rule, tend to be unstable. Today was a test that you didn't quite pass. I'd like you to show better restraint in the future. It would be a shame if another talented witch ended up in Azkaban."

"Yes, sir." I bit my tongue to prevent from spitting that my mother hadn't ended up in Azkaban, she'd ended up dead.

"Your dismissed." I raced out of the classroom faster then I'd originally thought possible and was halfway down the corridor and looking for Cedric. He'd probably already gone down to lunch, but maybe I could catch him--

There was an inordinate amount of noise in the corridor and I noticed a flock of the highly unpopular, popular kids. Vicious girls and stupid brutes always stick together, something proven by the fact that Cho was leading this little entourage. But Cedric(who was neither a vicious girl or a stupid brute) was hopelessly trapped in the center of it all, swept up by the crowd. I pushed and shoved to get through when someone fell back with a cry of dismay and called me something so rude I wont dare to write it down. I snatched up the kid by his neck and smacked him back against the wall.

"Sorry? Didn't quite catch that, do you want to repeat it?" Stewart Ackerley dangled helplessly from my grasp as I pressed the tip of my wand against his throat. "How old are you?"

"Third year." He snapped rebelliously and earned himself another hard jab in the stomach from my wand.

"Try again."

"Second-"

"You better be kidding me, Ackerley." I snarled and smacked him back against the wall. "Repeat after me: I am a measly first year. If I am to change my image, I must change my attitude."

"But-"

"Say it or you'll be sipping pumpkin juice through your left nostril for the rest of your life!"

"I am a measly first year. If I am to change my image, I must change my attitude." He babbled, clawing at where my fingers were wrapped around his throat.

"Repeat it!"

"I am a measly first year. If I am to change my image, I must change my attitude-" He gasped frantically.

"_Repetaro_." I murmured, pointing at his throat. He wriggled away from me and turned back to say something nasty, but all that came out of his mouth was the last sentence he'd uttered:

"I am a measly first year. If I am to change my image, I must change my attitude. EEK!" He gave a terrified squeak and rushed away down the hall, a hand clamped over his mouth.

"Well, well. What do we have here? Torturing first years? Now, now, Fin! There are more humane ways of doing that, no need for a jinx." Fred called, George laughing so hard it appeared his sides were about to split. Lee Jordan was close behind, waving at me frantically. Oliver loped along beside them, hands in his pockets and obviously still depressed about the entire Quidditch thing. He looked up at me and managed a small smile.

"How is my _favourite_ Ravenclaw, Foxy Fin?" Lee simpered mockingly, obviously trying very hard to stop laughing. I winced at the casual use of my more 'colourful' nickname.

"Smashing." I rolled my eyes.

"We're off to submit our names for the cup, come with?" Submit their names? I didn't bother to ask, it was Fred and George, after all.

"Sure, why not? My mates ditched me." I shrugged and ducked under both their arms to stand beside Oliver and slide an arm around his middle playfully.

"Shucks, Oliver. Your so depressed you make Jedda look happy-go-lucky." I said, giving him a little squeeze.

"Fin, how could you? Sell us out for the likes of him!" Fred exclaimed in mock disgust.

"I feel so…forlorn." Lee Jordan sniffled pitifully.

"Fred, how could she?"

"Shush, the lot of you. Olive? Come on, cheer up!" I tried again, ignoring their attempts to distract me and Oliver's sullen silence. He looked down at me and smiled a little, slinging his arm around my shoulder. I winced in pain but didn't complain.

"I'm fine, Fin. Just a little bothered about the whole no-Quidditch thing."

"Yeah, I know. Stupid tournament cheats us out of our last year of Quidditch. Meh!" I made a noise of disgust and he laughed.

"You're looking into the faces of Hogwart's two tournament champions right here!" George pounded his chest and slapped Lee and Fred high fives.

"You guy's aren't old enough to submit your names." I pointed out, trying to stop smiling at their antic's. Oliver rolled his eyes and sighed in a long-suffering way.

"Don't encourage them."

"How do you figure you'll enter?" I asked, eager to strike up a conversation with the twins. They were always so much fun to hang out with, and to scheme with(Ha, and you thought two Gryffindor's were smart enough to come up with all those clever pranks by themselves?!).

"Aging potion." Fred and George answered me in unison.

"Have you brewed any yet? Not that it has a chance of working, but I'm curious." I asked, positive that it wouldn't work. Age-lines were impossible to get across but for one fatal flaw: You couldn't limit the ages to a selective group, like sixteen to seventeen or something like that. It would have to be seventeen and above…so, conceivably, they _could_ pull it off. But certainly not with an aging potion. They'd need an older student to submit their names, and even then, Dumbledore might have put a jinx on the cup.

"Simmering upstairs, figured we'd take some after breakfast and have a go anyway, Miss-know-it-all Ravenclaw." George muttered, poking me hard in the stomach. I shrugged away and laughed as we walked into the entrance hall, where fifty or so students were clustered around the goblet of fire. Oliver looked rather resentfully at the magnificent blue flames that leapt and swayed in the cup. I expect he was still miffed about the entire affair cheating him out of a year of Quidditch.

"There you are! We'd thought Moody've turned you into an owl by now. Did you get detention?" Val exclaimed, waving her arms around in the air wildly to emphasize the seriousness of the situation.

"Nah, no detention. I got told off, though. So, who's going to submit their name?" I asked brightly, searching the crowd for familiar faces.

"Fawcett's going for it-"

"But she's too young!"

"Hey, don't look at me." Jedda threw up her hands. "I _warned_ her-"

"Yeah, but you cant just let her go and make a fool of us. We're the _clever_ house, for Merlin's sake! Where is-" BANG! The sound made me jump as laughter erupted around the hall.

"Damn, would you get a load of that? A beard! Proof that once again, Dumbledore has a sense of humour." Jedda snickered and as I stared, astounded and embarrassed, at the long beard Fawcett had grown after crossing the age line.

"Hey, where are Fred and George?" Val asked, searching for them. The quartet of Gryffindor's had already taken off. Damn! Gone again! They were harder to keep track of then Mrs. Norris, Evil Cat Queen.

"I should warn them-" I turned and searched the crowd.

"No way, I want to see those two with beards!"

"Huh, risk life for school and eternal glory or remain a solemn over-achiever? I choose option two, thank you very much." Jedda muttered as we watched students come forward to put their names into the goblet of fire. I looked at Valerie.

"Are you going to do it?"

"Nope." She shook her head. "Eternal glory is a pretty cheap prize."

"You get money, too." Jedda replied, brushing her hair back into a ponytail.

"Schwing! How much?"

"Maybe a thousand galleons, I think."

"I'm sold." Valerie cried, whipping out a scrap of parchment and a pen.

"But Val, you could die-" She paused for a moment and looked at me, thoughtful.

"If I died rich-"

"You could die and leave the money to us! Whoop! Go get 'em, kiddo. We're right behind you." Jedda sang out cheerfully, ushering Val forward.

"Jedda! Valerie!" I rolled my eyes at them and snagged the back of their robes.

"Oh, fine! I choose life." Val grumbled shoving the parchment and quill back in her bag. Jedda was looking over our shoulders, her eyes widening.

"Apparently, Pretty Boy doesn't."

"What do you mean-" And then I turned and saw a popular bunch literally throw him into the circle. The next thing I was aware of was Jedda and Valerie, gripping my elbows tightly.

"Easy, Fin. Put on a happy face and walk away." Jedda spoke soothingly despite her clenched teeth.

"Dude, try not to look like your going to bite his head off."

"I'm just going to kill them quickly, I swear. I'll break their necks and they wont feel a thing after that." I snarled under my breath, casting my best death glare at the nearest boy, Daryl Copen. He scuttled away furtively, dodging behind Cedric to escape my murderous expression.

"Well, well. If it isn't Ravenclaw's three stooges."

"Ah, Katie. You're just a ball of sunshine this morning, aren't you?" Jedda replied in a preemptively bitchy strike.

"Spare me your riotous sense of humor."

"Don't you have first years to disembowel?" I snarled, to angry to deal with her unwarranted animosity.

"Don't you have other people's boyfriends to snog?" She snapped, glaring at me. Alright, that was highly unfair. I'd never snogged anyone, let alone another persons boyfriend!

"Look, did you want something?"

"Yes, I did." She replied primly, pulling herself up to her full height of barely 5'3 and smiling.

"And that something is?" Val made a rolling motion.

"To gloat about how Oliver will be safe since he isn't entering, but Diggory might not be so lucky."

"Oh, go away! It's not like pretty boy will get picked!" Jedda waved her away, rolling her eyes. My body was tensed as I watched the blue flame shoot upwards as Ced dropped his name into the goblet.

"Oh, do use the brain that your always bragging about, Ravenclaw. Diggory meets _all_ the criteria, doesn't he, Findabhair?" Katie sang out in a proud and confident voice, her perky little nose in the air.

"Get stuffed, Bell." I grumbled, my voice ripping through an octave or two.

"Yes, Bell. In fact, let me stuff you. My wit isn't the only thing that's beyond measure." Roger stalked up behind Katie, setting a casual arm around her waist and mine, tugging us against his sides.

"GAH!" We recoiled from his touch and Katie managed to scramble away. I wasn't so lucky.

"Keep at it Davies, Oliver will kill you." She spat angrily, storming off in a fit of kittenish fury.

"Face it, Bell, I make you jingle!" He called jovially, giving my waist a little extra squeeze.

"Thanks," I muttered breathlessly, "you can let go now."

"She only hates you because Oliver wants to put his quaffle through your hoop-"

"ROGER!!" We shouted in unison, Val and Jedda prying his arms from around my waist.

"Can we not talk about sex?" Jedda muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Fine," he looked greatly disappointed by the change in topic. "What do you lot want to talk about, anyway? The cup? I submitting my name and I'm expecting your vote of confidence, mon cherri. And perhaps a good luck snog for your capitaine." He murmured seductively, his poor French accent thick with innuendo.

"No thanks, Roger." I cleanly dodged his embracing arms and his offer.

"You are a tease, my darling." He sighed and set an arm around my waist. I allowed it on the premise that it not drift any lower than it already was.

"Rubbish, I don't tease you about anything." Laughing softly, I leaned away from his nuzzle.

"Au contraire, mon cherri! Your very existence intrigues and entices my every romantic advance. You are purely divine, my wicked little fox." There was something serious in his tone of voice that worried me as I disentangled myself from his suggestive embrace, pushing his face away from neck.

"Roger?" I asked tentatively, worried about the soft expression in his eyes. Jedda and Valerie were exchanging nervous looks. He broke away from us chuckling breathlessly.

"Come on, you know I'm only kidding…should have seen the looks on your faces…cheerio!" He waved and took off, winking at me.

"Bloody hell, Fin. You better watch yourself this year, Davies is bloody frightening."

"He's got a one track mind. If it's got two legs, he'll go for it." I waved away Jedda's concern. Horny Davies might be but attracted he was not.

"Alright, well, if we're not going to submit our names, can we go get something to eat?" Valerie complained squirming.

"Last one there's a blast-ended skrewt!"

~*~

"The Durmstrang Champion is…Victor Krum!" I clapped politely as everyone else cheered, watching the impressive Bulgarian seeker march up to Dumbledore and shake his hand. It was a struggle to keep myself calm as I waited for the Hogwarts champion to be announced. Fleur Delacour was up for the Beauxbatons, causing Davies to whistle and hoot enthusiastically whilst elbowing me frantically in the ribs. I shoved him off a little roughly and clenched my wand with white knuckles, sucking in deep breaths to allay the nervousness.

"The Hogwart's champion is-" But in that moment as Dumbledore reached for the slip of paper that read the name of our schools champion, I knew. Of course it would be Cedric, there was no way it could not be. My sixth sense for these things told me this: Cedric Diggory. My heart sank as Dumbledore opened his mouth and declared happily the name that I dreaded. "Cedric Diggory!"

The Hufflepuff's went wild with happiness, shouting and waving and throwing things. Cedric leapt up from his table, beaming with pride. He laughed and reached out to hug his friends, slapping high fives and accepting pats on the back from his buddies. I saw Fred and George sulking on the other side of the hall and listened to Davies groan from behind me. And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, Cedric darted over and dragged me into an embrace. Tears of horror rolled down my cheeks as I clumsily patted him on the back.

"Y-y-you got in," I gasped brokenly. " I'm so happy for you."

"I know! Isn't it great!?" He squeezed my shoulders and stepped away, laughing. I was glad he didn't see my tear-streaked face.

"Great. Just great." I murmured tightly, sucking in a sob. "Go up there, quick! They're waiting for you."

"Wait-" Oh no, he'd seen the tears.

"GO!" Val and Jedda shoved him towards Dumbledore and he stumbled off, a bewildered expression on his face. Like a dog who's been kicked. Oh, Cedric.

"C'mere and stop crying." Val held out her arms and I collapsed into them, crying into her shoulder. Terrifying images of Cedric fighting mythical beasts which could tear his throat out with a single swipe of venomous claws sprang to my mind. Why, for the love of Merlin, was everyone _applauding_ this?! It was a while before they all shut up enough for Dumbledore to wax lyrical about the many ways we could cheer on our champions as they went out to perform death defying tasks for something as petty as school spirit.

"Let's go, Hogwarts, LET'S GO!" Josie Morong sang out from the Gryffindor table.

"Yes, thank you, Miss Morong-" Suddenly, Dumbledore was quiet. He was distracted by the goblet of fire flaring red and spitting; out another piece of parchment.

"_What?!_" Jedda asked from beside me, shocked. I shook my head in amazement and hope, maybe it was wrong, maybe it _wasn't _Cedric after all!

"Hang on," Val said, counting on her fingers with a puzzled expression.

"Shut up!" Davies snapped as Dumbledore cleared his throat and spoke:

"_Harry Potter."_


	4. Chapter 4

"What?"

"_Him_?!"

"Oh, enough already! He looks white as a sheet…"

"Serves him right!"

"He's a cheat!"

"CHEAT!"

"Wait, really? WOOT!" Josie screamed, punching her fist in the air.

Voices buzzed around me, disconnected bits of conversation. Distrustful whispers, wary stares and angry looks filled the hall like a sickness. Outrage radiated from the Hufflepuff's with such vehement force you couldn't have cut the tension with a severing charm. This…was…not…right.

"Findabhair? Take deep, calming breaths-" I didn't realize I'd been hyperventilating until I was sitting on the ground with my head between my knees and Valerie exaggerating her breathing for me.

"Val, she's not in labor!" Someone smacked me in the face. Hard.

"AOW! HEY!" I lashed out with a fist and connected with Jedda's stomach.

"OUCH! Nice right hook, Ms. Hysterical." She coughed, staggering sideways into James Connery and Roger, clutching Anastasia's tiny neck in a effort to stay standing. The four of them went down in a writhing mass of arms and legs.

They weren't alone: Our entire house was on their feet, shouting and shoving and looking ready to leap at the Gryffindors. I caught a glimpse of Josie rolling up her sleeves and like she was going to get up on the table and body-slam Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott, both of whom were screaming abuse at the rippling sea of gold and scarlet.

"I'll dismiss you all by house-" Professor Sprout was trying to recapture the mob's attention with little success.

"Where's Dumbledore? Quick, before Josie starts throwing punches!" Danica shouted over the din, helping James to his feet.

"CHEATERS! BLOODY GRYFFINDOR CHEATS!! With your famous lackey Potter! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS, WOOD!" Roger screamed, spittle flying from his lips as he yanked out his wand. Oliver was jumping down from the table shoving up his sleeves as the defensive fury of the entire Gryffindor house was turned on us.

"You Ravenclaw swots! It's none of your business!" Fred roared back, knocking over a bench as he stood up.

"Yeah! Come over here Davies and say that to our faces, eh?" George catcalled, standing beside his brother.

"We're all behind him Gryffindork!" Jedda yelled, eyes alight with the anticipation of battle. It had been a poor choice made by the headmasters to leave us all alone to start a House War.

"Somebody do something before Roger gets himself expelled!" I shouted desperately clawing at my Quidditch Captains sleeves.

"All of vou are ze cheeter's!" Some Beaxbatons girl spat at me. " 'Ogwartz school!"

"Oh, shush, you silly little frog." I snapped, glaring at her and losing my hold on Roger.

"JAMES!" I pleaded, gesturing frantically.

"Got it!" He called, tackling Roger to the floor before he could get more than three feet in Oliver's direction.

"SILENCE!!" Professor McGonagall shrieked, her voice magically amplified so the sound was twice as piercing. Everyone froze, even Roger from where he squirmed madly under James, trying to get at a Durmstrang's ankle with his teeth.

"I am appalled at the behaviour of not only my own students, but those of the other schools as well! I assure you that our Headmaster's and Mistress will take care of this unexpected complication in due course. Now I _order _you to return to your places of residence immediately." She snapped in her severe, no-nonsense voice. "If I see any of you behave in a way that is anything less than civil, you'll find yourself out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Triwizard Tournament'."

"Sounds fair to me." Roger grumbled but got reluctantly to his feet and slunk back to the benches, James behind him like a buffer as we all stood up and I got ready to help James escort our house back to the common room.

"You take the front?" James asked, already moving in behind to round up some of the reluctant and more belligerent stragglers.

"Might as well," I sighed and waved my unhappy housemates forward. "It's not like it can get any worse."

But I was wrong. As soon as classes began again 'belligerent' was the nicest way to describe the attitude Ravenclaw's felt towards Potter. Personally, I'd never really minded him. But the feelings I felt towards him now were entirely different. Cedric had one more competitor, one more person to fight against. This made me furious, the injustice of the entire scenario. Besides, if it had been any other under-aged wizard, they would have found a way around it. They wouldn't have let Summerby or Orla compete, it was with colossal unfairness that Gryffindor's always seemed to get by on nerve. And so, my feeling of irritation with the house of Godric Gryffindor festered and grew.

However, it didn't even come close to how aggressive I felt toward Cedric's suddenly budding entourage of annoyingly prideful twits and their less than courteous treatment of me. Girls flittered about him like moths to the flame, more persistent than usual. And with the parade of pretty girls came a horde of obnoxious Hufflepuff seventh year boys who gravitated toward Ced, hoping to share in just some of the glory. If I could just transfigure them all into toads and not get caught…

"Hey, O'Brien." Oh no.

"Flint? What do _you_ want?" I whirled, glaring at the hulking Slytherin boy as he ran towards me down the hallway. He tossed me a package which I caught reflexively, green wrapping shimmering in the faint sunlight from a stained glass window. I dropped it like a hot coal and shook my hand in disgust.

"That's from Malfoy." Oh, lovely. I really wanted a gift from that annoying little twit.

"And what makes you think I'd want it?" I sneered, turning away in disgust.

"It's about Diggory-" He began.

"What do you mean, it's about Diggory!?" I turned back but he was already running in the other direction. I stared down at the offending package before reaching to snatch it up and tear the wrapping off. I pulled out a badge, kind of like the S.P.E.W. ones that bushy little Hermione Granger had tried to pin on me. Only this one said: Support Cedric Diggory--the REAL Hogwarts Champion in large red letters. I rubbed my thumb over the words and they changed to POTTER STINKS.

"What's that, Fin?" Anastasia asked, coming down the hallway towards me. I tossed it towards her and feigned indifference.

"A button that Malfoy thought I was interested in…you can have it." I was mean, but I wouldn't sink so low as petty. And I certainly wasn't about to show any of the Slytherin's I'd accepted a gift from Malfoy.

"I'll wear it with pride…stupid Gryffindors." She laughed and walked down the hallway, her robes fluttering around her ankles delicately. Apparently, the animosity still held fresh.

"Is that another one of those damn things?" Josie Morong sidled up beside me, glaring at the back of Anastasia's head. I shifted a little bit away from her as a tiny, poisonous little voice in the back of my head spit _Gryffindor cheat!_ in an obnoxious tone. An ache dashed through my tattoo but I shook it off.

"It's Malfoy who's been dishing them out." I murmured, disgusted.

"Yeah, but no Slytherin's clever enough to come up with such a powerful charm by themselves." She gave me a sidelong look. "The Creevey brothers have been trying to fix those for a few days now and it keeps coming up as _POTTER REALLY STINKS_. Don't think I can't guess whose sense of humour that is."

"Wait," I turned towards her, appalled. "Are you accusing _me_?! Josie, I'm not that petty!"

"Yeah, well, you care about your foster-brother. That's not a crime. I mean, Hufflepuff's are losers-"

"JOSIE!" How could she say that to me? She was my friend!

"Well, if the shoe fits-" She began, shrugging her shoulders with feigned nonchalance. She was raring for a fight.

"Hufflepuff's are NOT losers!" I shouted in the middle of the hallway, glaring at her. Several Hufflepuff's turned around with vicious looks on their faces. There, if she wanted to fight dirty, I'd give her the fury of an entire house to deal with. "And Potter should never have been allowed to compete! Besides, you submitted your name and I don't see you waltzing around as a Triwizard Champion-"

"Findabhair, chill out, dude." Val grabbed my shoulder and smiled at a fuming Josie. "Don't worry, Jose."

"Yeah, Fin's just edgy." Jedda muttered, trying to crowd me so I couldn't see Ced coming down the hallway.

"Cedric!" I called, pushing past Josie, who was still muttering mutinously about something she called 'Gryffindor pride'.

"There she goes again." Val sighed, watching me take off. Cedric turned around in surprise and stopped to wait for me to catch up. His mob did the same, though rather grudgingly.

"Hey, Findabhair. What is it?" He asked lightly, looking a little nervous. The seventh year pack of boys was looking at me out of the corner of their eyes, nudging each other and guffawing. The girls hung back and twittered in an irritated and disdainful way. He wasn't nervous because he cared what they thought, he was nervous because I had a temper to rival the meanest veela's.

"Do I need a reason to be included in your little group?" I asked cuttingly and glared at the Hufflepuff girl who was giving me a dirty look from behind Ced's back. She shrunk away with her eyes down. Speaking of house pride, a little do-gooder, hard-working, goofy misfit girl should not be giving me that kind of crap. Cedric looked surprised and I didn't give him a chance to think about it: "Hey, so, have you given any thought to the tournament?"

"Yes, I wanted to talk to you about that, actually." He replied eagerly, "Maybe a couple of extra study sessions or something to prepare, you know?"

"I think that sounds like a great plan." I smiled, surprised to find how much I was enjoying the jealous look his popular gaggle of girls were giving me. There were some new additions to his fan club this year, but the classics remained: Raine Dynman, Hannah Abbott, Lisa Turpin…all giving me that green-with-envy look. "Want to meet me in the library after supper?"

"Alright. Or you could just come down to the common room and we could practice there." He shrugged, smiling. My heart fluttered a little, Ced had a great smile.

"Whatever you prefer." I grinned back. Personally, I'd rather we have gone up to the library. Hufflepuff had a cozy little common room, but the fact that it was underground made me anxious. It wasn't very open, either.

"How about the common room?" Damn, I knew he'd say that. "I'll meet you after dinner, then?"

"Definitely! C'ya, Cedric!" And with that, he turned to take the stairs up to Flitwick's. I ran to catch up with Jedda, Josie and Val.

"Hey, guys! So, what have we got for Transfiguration today?" I asked brightly, punching Jedda in the shoulder playfully. Val bit her lip and groaned.

"We've got full transfiguration today, and not even from a similar object. Complete and utter, seat-of-your -trousers, random object to live creature. It'll be brutal." Jedda groaned as we walked into McGonagall's classroom.

"Aw, it'll be okay!" I giggled, inexplicably overjoyed. Val laughed and turned to Josie, a triumphant expression on her face.

"In your face! You owe me three knuts."

"Dammit, I don't have my purse with me."

"What?" I asked, nonplussed.

"Hey, at least you didn't bet high, Jose." Jedda smirked and as we took our seats at the back.

"What are you guys talking about? Is it about me and transfiguration?"

"Nope, it's about you and pretty boy puffle." Josie sighed wearily.

"What?!"

"Miss O'Brien, if you please!" McGonagall snapped, scowling at me. We were so busy working on our spells for the entire period we barely got a chance to talk. Which left me so distracted that instead of transfiguring my eraser into a titmouse, I transfigured my entire desk into a badger. It was a good badger, at least(even if it did try and eat Jedda's quill turned finch.).

"Usually when your distracted, you don't turn things into badgers. I mean, why a badger?" Jedda mused as we packed up our books.

"Hang on." I was concentrating hard on trying to rid my desk of black and white stripes. I tapped my wand to the surface and they faded.

"I know why." Val grinned conspiratorially, green blue eyes alight with an intuitive understanding of my slip up. The badger incident was a result of my scattered subconscious using Hufflepuff paraphernalia to remind me of my recent case of Cedric Lust. Val knew that without even having to try. After all, who needs Occlumency when you've got best friends?

I practically skipped down the hallway, happier than I'd been in days. Valerie had concocted a suitable cover story and was playing prefect in my stead until I returned(she was overjoyed at a chance to insist that everyone must unconditionally follow her every demand. Terry Boot was probably still doing handstands…). I flew down a flight of stairs and onto the ground floor, already searching the right corridor for the spiral staircase that lead down to the kitchens and Hufflepuff common room.

"Hey! Findabhair!" I turned and saw Oliver hailing me from down the hallway, dressed in full Quidditch regalia. His adorable face was lit with a bright grin, spots of hectic red across his cheek bones. He looked windswept and exhilarated. "What are you doing down here?"

"I'm off to go discuss tournament strategy with Cedric," I responded lightly, eager to be off and yet not wanting to be rude. "You?"

"I just got back in from a practice session." He closed the distance between us and swept me into a tight embrace.

"By yourself?"

"Yeah," He panted and his face fell. "I'd love some company one of these days…istomorrowgoodforou?"

"Huh?" I hadn't been able to make out the last part of that sentence. His eyes were huge and terrified as he gazed down at me in horror. "What?"

"Tomorrow? Go? With me? Quidditch?"

"Oh! Yeah, sure, why not?" I laughed at his expression of relief and looked at my watch. Bollocks! "Oh, hell. I've got to go. See you later?"

"Yeah, bye!" He waved at me as I took off down the spiral staircase we'd come to. Ernie met me halfway, a stricken expression on his face. My heart stopped.

"Ernie, what's wrong?" I gripped his shirt-front and he stared at me with a blank expression. "Ernie?!"

"Drag-Drag-Dra…" His lips shook and he bit them sharply before taking a large breath. "Dragons."

"Oh." I breathed a sigh of relief. "What about them?"

"Dragons is the first task. Cedric fights…dragons." Oh no.

~*~

"YOU CANT!" I shouted, shaking my head. "I'm going up to Dumbledore right now and telling him you cannot-"

"I wasn't even supposed to know, you cant go tell!" Cedric grabbed my shoulders and wrestled me back to the couch. I sat down awkwardly and tried to jump back up, but he was too strong for me.

"Cedric, this is ridiculously dangerous! They cant expect you to-"

"Findabhair-"

"-get yourself _killed_-"

"_Findabhair!_"

"I wont let you-"

"YES, _MOTHER_!!" Cedric gasped exasperatedly, staring at the ceiling. I quieted abruptly and stared at the floor, trying to calm the fear writhing in the pit of my stomach. All I could see was Cedric getting roasted in a pillar of flame, picked up and tore apart by vicious hooked talons while I stood powerless to help him. Ernie sat beside me on the couch, staring dejectedly at the coffee table.

"Please-" I appealed to him.

"Fin, it's bad. But who better to coach Cedric than yourself?" Ernie murmured, fooling with some muggle paraphernalia. It looked like a multicoloured cube.

"But I don't want…Cedric, is this what you want?" I breathed, swallowing my argument.

"To fight a dragon? No. But to win the cup and play this game, yes. I want you to help me Fin, I need you. Please." He took my hands in his and looked pleadingly down at me. I bit my lip and stared up into those silver hazel eyes.

"Alright, I'll help you."

"CEDRIC!!" I roared as he walked into the enclosure, a very worried look on his face. Oh dear god, what was he going to do? I looked at the Swedish Short snout with trepidation . Bugger, bollocks, bugger, bloody hell.

"Fin, your going to rip your robes if you keep twisting them about like that!" Val blathered excitedly and I released my robes and curled my fingers around the arena railing. "Don't worry, he can do this. He's smart, right? He knows what he's doing?"

"I hope so." I groaned and forced myself to watch, terrified. The dragon reared her head and roared, a jet of flame shooting from her nostrils. The great emerald bat wings flapped and a gust of air that nearly blew my scarf away. For a moment, I had the most irrational urge to leap between Cedric and the dragon and snarl my own protective fury to the sky. What an odd thought.

"Don't fret, Fin. If he's nimble enough to be a good seeker, then he'll be able to evade a dragon." Oliver comforted me grudgingly, and arm around my shoulders. I squirmed out from under it, too anxious to bear it's consoling weight. Cedric ducked and stayed out of reach, his expression deadly serious. Then he looked back at the crowd, searching for something, almost. The dragon moved-"CEDRIC!" Everyone screamed as he narrowly avoided being crushed by her tail. Oh no. Please remember what we did in those hours spent in the library, remember what the books said about short snouts…poor eyesight! Ced was searching the crowd again-

"YOU IDIOT!! PAY ATTENTION TO THE BLOODY, FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, my heart pounding with terror. I could have sworn, in that moment before he was forced to dodge another jet of flame, he looked up at me and grinned. And then, in a flash, he was back.

With a flourish of his wand, a giant boulder shimmered and transfigured into a dog. A big, black dog.

"Oh my god…is that Bludger?" Valerie cackled at the top of her lungs as the dog raced forward towards the dragon, barking it's head off.

"Nice!" Jedda roared appreciatively, glancing up from her magazine. Cedric ran for it as soon as the dragon was sufficiently distracted, a headlong dash over the jagged rocks of the enclosure.

"RUN!!" I screamed, trying to drown out all the popular idiots who were shrieking his name. How could they distract him like that?! The Swedish Short-snout was very busy with the rock-turned-obnoxious-dog, roaring and trying to snap her jaws shut on the creature. Cedric rushed forward, right under the dragons flailing wing and snatched up the egg. The wrong egg. He was halfway free when he realized and tossed it away. The dragon turned as he scooped up the golden egg and her maw opened wide, a crackling sound like the roar of a forge starting in her throat as the bronze eyes widened with fury.

"AAAAAAH!!" My scream joined with the cacophony of groans and terrified shrieks as Ced dove and just barely caught the jet of flame.

"Oh shit." Oliver muttered, eyes wide with shock. I was trying to scramble out of my seat as he and Val clawed at my arms and dragged me back down. Cedric's right arm was alight and he fumbled for his wand, running back towards the stands as they blew the whistle. The dog curled up and became a rock again as Cedric stumbled, clutching the egg. The stands stood up and applauded, shouting loudly their encouragement. I slumped back against my seat.

"Fin! He's okay! He's alive! Look!" Val urged, pulling on my arm.

"I'm going to be…" I took a gigantic breath. "SICK!"

"Not on me!" Jedda leaped back and out of the way. I shoved by her and ran towards the medical tent. I had to go see him, he'd been burned…how badly?! I smacked right into Filch as I tried to get off the stands.

"I have to go see him!" I tried desperately, waving my arms around uselessly. "PLEASE!?""Nope." The disgusting janitor uttered the p with a popping sound. He sneered at me gleefully. "Can't let any students by, no matter how much they squeal."

In retrospect, I never should have done what I did. It really wasn't nice, or ethical. I yanked my wand out of my pocket and jammed it under his throat, manners be damned.

"LET ME BY!" I snarled, mind racing wildly for a spell strong enough to deter Filch yet not quite strong enough to hurt him. He staggered back a few steps, surprised. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to let me by. Jedda and Valerie came to my rescue.

"Quick! Pull a Luna!" Jedda hissed and I snapped into action pointing over his shoulder and faking a stunned look.

"LOOK! A giant Snortle!"

"Wha-HEY!" But I was already rushing down the steps and into the tent. Madam Pomfrey caught me before I'd gone much farther then a few steps.

"He's alright, O'Brien. Very superficial second degree burns-"

"SECOND DEGREE!? What-OW!" She slapped me across the face. I took a huge breath and exhaled slowly. "Thanks." I muttered and she nodded, gripping my upper arm tightly in her hand and dragging me towards his bed.

"Findabhair?"

"Cedric!" I rushed towards him and threw my arms around him before I realized exactly what I was doing. He was sweaty and gross and bleeding from a cut on his forehead and I just didn't care. I was sobbing, terrified for him. There was sticky, orange goop all over the right side of his face, mending the burn. It smeared across my eyebrow and cheek as he reached up to hug me to him.

"Fin, calm down! Fin, I'm okay." He murmured, bemused by my behavior.

"You great, colossal, fat, ruddy, _git_!" I hiccupped. "You could've died! DIED! And I had to watch!"

"I know, I know." He muttered hurriedly, wiping my eyes with the sleeve of his tournament uniform. "I'm sorry…Fin, calm down! Your heart, it's pounding!"

He'd pressed his palm to where my heart was battering itself against my ribcage and I felt sure that if I looked down, I would be able to see it beating. His arm! My stomach lurched sickeningly as I looked at it.

"It's fine, really." He muttered, shoving it behind his back. I flicked my attention to the cut on his forehead as Madam Pomfrey bustled back around the corner.

"Oh, Ced." I groaned, reaching out and brushing my fingers across to catch the drizzle of crimson. It stood out sharply against my white skin, sticky and wet.

"How does it feel now, Diggory?" Madam Pomfrey bustled around the curtain, casting me a disapproving glance.

"Oh…much better." Ced nodded vigorously, watching me with a cautious expression. Madam Pomfrey eyed him dubiously before grabbing his injured, orange paste-clad arm in her talons. "OUCH!"

"Yes, certainly feels much better, doesn't it?" She asked severely, releasing his arm.

"I got the egg, at least." He tried to grin at me while Madam Pomfrey fooled around with his arm. He winced and gritted his teeth, but leaned over to pick up the egg and hand it to me.

"You grabbed the wrong one at first, though." I murmured and smiled weakly, reaching out to take it from him. The golden egg was still pleasantly warm from sitting in the dragons clutch and I ran my fingers across it, rubbing away the soot.

"Was it noticeable?" He groaned.

"Nah. Bludger, eh?" I looked up at him and laughed a little. "How'd you figure-?"

"Oh, that. Well, I used female psychology." Cedric muttered sheepishly, grinning up at me through his bangs. With Fred and George, the excess hair was annoying. With Cedric, it was somehow…charming.

"Go on." I urged, not sure if I liked where this conversation was going.

"I remembered that every time you got mad at Fred and George, just when you were mad enough to rip their heads off, they'd distract you with something more upsetting. You'd get so stressed you forgot why you were mad at them in the first place. Also, _you_ hate dogs. I figured the same might work for a female dragon…Don't take that the wrong way!" He muttered hurriedly as I glowered at him.

"Cedric Diggory, are you likening me to a female dragon?" I growled, raising an eyebrow. He winced and flinched away from me. I let him ponder his chances of survival for a minute before letting him off the hook. "That is either the most insulting, foulest thing you have ever said…or the sweetest and most adorable." I flung my arms around his neck and he let out a small gasp of pain but hugged me back.

"Let's make it the sweetest and most adorable." He sniggered, giving my shoulders a little extra squeeze. I laughed and loosened my grip slowly.

"Diggory, they want you out to get your scores. You can help him up if you want, Findabhair." Madam Pomfrey held open the curtain for us and I let Cedric lean on my shoulder as we walked out into the sunlight together.


	5. Chapter 5

The next few weeks passed, blessedly uneventful, except for the preparations for the Yule Ball. Valerie had gone around shouting about it for a full three days after the official announcement.

"A DANCE, FINDABHAIR!! A REAL DANCE!!" Valerie twirled and plopped down onto the couch, grabbing Roger around the neck and squeezing the life out of him in her euphoria. He gasped and clawed at the armrest, turning the same shade blue as the upholstery.

"A dance, ugh, no…a real dance!" Jedda threw up her hands in disgust and thumped down on the other side of Davies, crossing her arms and pouting.

"Your split personalities are giving me whiplash, you know." I rolled my eyes and practiced a colour change charm on the carpet, replacing the blue and silver decorations with sable and gold.

"Decoration a le Hufflepuff." Roger spoke in his false French accent. I groaned and returned the carpet to it's original colours, shaking my head dejectedly.

"Hey!" Valerie perked up with an 'AHA!' expression on her face. "You can ask Cedric, it's perfect!"

"No, it is not perfect." I sighed, jerking my head subtly towards where Cho was eavesdropping. Valerie looked straight at her, caught her eye, and blew a huge raspberry.

"Hey, Fin, want to go with the ball with me?" Asked Roger, beaming delightedly.

"No thanks." My answer was immediate and soul-crushing. As much as I loved Roger, he was only asking me to be cheeky.

"What? Your not going to ask us, Davies?" Valerie giggled.

"If I asked you, you'd say yes. If I asked our lovely Nyx, goddess of night, she'd beat me bloody." I looked over at Jedda, who had a small smile playing around the corner of her lips. Hmm. Something made me think she might not have minded taking Davies to the ball, after all.

"Speaking of which, Potter still needs a date." Summerby leaned over the couch to take a biscuit from the tray on the coffee table.

"You thinking about asking him, Summerby?" Jedda shot back, a sneer on her lips.

"The more you deny it, the more it proves true." James Connery trilled in a sing song tone.

The conversation went down hill from there, followed shortly by Jedda's vicious comment to James that he perform certain indecencies with a skrewt. The next few days were full of strange Yule date pairings, it seemd the boys were all racing to get the 'best' dates and the girls just couldn't stop talking about which boys were the fittest and who fancied who's date. It was bloody ridiculous! Draco Malfoy asked me, which couldn't have been more awkward because he had Flint ask me for him in the middle of advanced potions. Snape had just stared at his desk, taking deep and steadying breaths when Flint had screamed in the middle of his lecture:

"OI, O'BRIEN? YOU WANNA GO WITH MALFOY TO YULE?"

"I'm going with the giant squid, thanks!"

"OH, OKAY THEN!" Merlin save me if I was reduced to taking Malfoy to the Yule ball.

After that eventful class, a boy in Gryffindor from Oliver's year asked me and I was so surprised I immediately turned him down. He walked away and hung his head in shame. Valerie and Jedda burst out laughing and I groaned, shaking my head. Why had I just done that?

"Aw, cheer up Fin! It was only Sean and he's a twit anyway." Jedda slapped me on the back forcefully, her smile genuine. Suddenly, Valerie started clawing at my shoulder so hard I thought she was going to climb my back.

"What!? What is it!?" I tried to shove her off and Jedda gasped and dropped her heavy Alchemy book on my foot in shock.

"What?! Why are you both-OUCH!" Jedda yanked the elastic from my hair so it cascaded over my face and brushed it back forcefully, swearing quietly.

"God, Fin, did I ever tell you that you have natural sex hair?"

"What?" I asked, trying to brush my hair back from my face so I could see. She slapped my hand and I yelped and jerked back it back, cradling it against my chest and glaring at her reproachfully.

"He's coming!" Val hissed, turning and pinching me hard on my cheeks.

"OW! Damn it, get OFF!" I shoved them both off of me, glaring ferociously. They cowered but straightened slightly and focused on something just past my shoulder, neutral expressions fixed on their faces.

"Hi, Cedric." They chorused, their voices full of robotic cheer. I froze and turned to see him standing there, right…behind…me. Oh.

"Er…Hello." He looked slightly thrown by their awkward greeting and then turned to me and started to speak. Then, he stopped. He began again only to make an odd croaking noise and turn like he was going to walk away. Val and Jedda exchanged a glance. Then, he squared is shoulders and turned back to me. Finally, something like speech came from his mouth:

"Um…Fin? C'mere, I have to ask you something." Cedric dragged me aside and into one of the deserted classrooms.

"Yeah?" My heart pounded unevenly in my chest. What if he was asking me to Yule?!

"I wanted to ask you-" Wow, he looked like he was going to be violently ill. Or like he was in pain. "Would you like-" I was trying hard not to look nervous. What if…what if, what if!? "I want to-""To what?" I gasped breathlessly. He shied back from me like I'd tried to hit him.

"I wanted to ask you, if you would like to tell me-" He sighed and looked defeated. "How to ask a girl to the dance?"

"Which girl?" I snapped abruptly, trying to hide the feelings that had been so openly displayed in my expression. Stupid, stupid, stupid! I'd always just be his foster sister! Why?! This girl, whoever she was, I'd kill her. Rip her limb from limb. If I couldn't have him- "OUCH! Damn it!"

"Fin?!" Cedric took an anxious step toward me as I scrubbed furiously at the bangles, scratching at the tattoo. I put some space between us so it wasn't so obvious what was bothering me. Ugh, I was such a freak!

"Well, what are you asking me for?" I snapped defensively, turning on my heel to glare at him. He leaned against the doorframe and glared back, rolling his eyes.

"Well, you are a girl. Don't you know some kind of...preferred method of asking out protocol?" I snorted, raising an eyebrow. For some reason my entire being was strongly opposed to sharing this knowledge with him.

"How nice of you to notice, what clued you in?" My biting remark stung him and I felt a tiny twinge of regret.

"Certainly not your attitude. But come on, Fin, please. I really need your help with this..." Oh, Cedric. Don't do this to me. I wanted to plead with him, to beg him to leave me alone and not ask me these horrible, torturous things. But he needed me, and I was such a sucker for this kind of thing. I turned and sat at the window, pulling my legs up so I could perch on the sill. I stared out at the snowy courtyard.

"Who is she?"

"I'd rather not say unless it really matters...Fin, are you okay?" I whipped my head around to hide the tears, letting my long, blonde hair fall over my eyes.

"If I were she, I would want to be asked out," Oh Merlin, I was living from comma to comma here. I swallowed and continued, step by torturous step.

"In a way that was sweet and mildly romantic, not too corny, though!" I cautioned, my voice gradually growing stronger. Imagine it's you he's asking out, my consciousness urged.

"Corny?"

"Avoid all shades of pink." I told him very seriously, looking at his anxious face. He burst out laughing.

"Pink?"

"Pink. Blood red is better then pink, everything's better then pink. You know that place in Hogsmeade?" I rolled my eyes, feeling a little bit more confident. I was describing the feelings of a girl _like me_, and I liked the idea that I might be the one person who he might have in mind who prefer this. Ah, bollocks, I was grasping at straws…

"Madame Puddifoots, the area you avoid like it has the plague? Yeah, but I thought-"

"It's the tea shop from hell." I said flatly.

"If hell had tea," He paused to roll his eyes and take a breath. "But I thought girls liked-"

"If any girl likes that stuff, she's not worth your wasted effort, Cedric." He looked like he was going to argue and then shut up quickly.

"Maybe you were the wrong person to ask-" He thought he'd said it quietly enough that I wouldn't hear him. He was wrong. The anger flared sickeningly at the back of my throat. My wand was out in a second and I let the hex tear my raw throat as I screamed it.

"_Shadelago rosa!!"_

"FIN!? Bloody hell!! I'M PINK! How can I go to class like...look at my hair?! PINK!!" It's true, his robes were the most violent and sickening shade of flourescent pink I could muster. His hair...well, that had been an accident. But nonetheless, very entertaining.

"Shut it and save it for someone who cares, like your beloved girlfriend!!" I shrieked, shoving by him and storming towards Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"Where do you think you're going?!" He called after me, desperately chasing me down. "How do I fix this?!"

"I'm sure the true Hogwarts champion should be able to figure that out!" I snarled out of the corner of my mouth.

"You-You're-You're impossible!"

"Impossible? That hurt." I snapped sarcastically, storming off down the hallway.

"You know what?""Wh-" His hex caught me right in the face as I turned and knocked me a full twenty feet.

"YOU BLOODY GIT, CEDRIC DIGGORY!!" There was instantly a slight, but not entirely uncomfortable, chill across my skin.

"You're cold-blooded, Findabhair." He snapped, glaring at me.

"Oh, and I suppose you think that this turning me exothermic business is very clever, do you? It's not even that strong, Cedric! You'll have to work on that one for next time." I turned on my heel and stalked off, touching my skin. It felt fine to me, maybe a little numb, but nothing serious. People we're going to be in stitches over his pink ensemble, though. I'd like to see him try and ask a girl out _now._

_~*~_

I raced to catch up with Val and Jedda, I had to get up to DADA before Cedric. I didn't even want to be in the same corridor as him, ugh! As I was rushing up the stairs, I saw Oliver stop and stare at me with his mouth hanging open.

"Hey, Oliver." I waved to him, surprised by how smoothly the words slid from tongue. Did I just lisp? Oliver shook his head and seemed to recover slightly.

"Hello…er…Fin. Here, uh, let me walk you to class." He hurried to match my long, angry strides. He kept shooting me worried, fascinated glances out of the corner of his eye as we rounded the corner on Val and Jedda, who immediately leapt at me and cried:

"How'd it go?!"

"I doonta 'ant oo talk about itaaah." I spat, trying to understand why I seemed to be rapidly developing some sort of speech impediment. Val was giving me a morbidly interested look and Jedda's frown turned into a smug grin.

"Oooh, he got you good."

"Whaaaaattt?" I advanced on her, but Oliver caught my arm.

"Um…Fin?" He began tentatively, wincing a little

"Yesssa?" I asked, coughing to clear my throat. That was weird, my mouth seemed to have the most difficulty with the s-sound today. I drew it out to three syllables of pure sss.

"Have you…er, looked in the mirror today?" Oliver murmured tentatively, looking sheepish.

"What? Do I have sssomething on my face-sa?" I turned and caught my reflection in a suit of armor. I slapped a hand over my mouth to stifle my scream of range.

A thousand tiny, jeweled, blonde scales glittered across the hollows of my cheeks and spilled across my neck They dusted the corners of my eyes and swept across the palms of my hands and insides of my wrists in large bars. My eyes were slanted and the pupils slit, tiny scales patterning my face and nose. My tongue darted out of my mouth, whip thin, bloody red and forked. Two delicately tapered fangs hung where my canines were supposed to be. UGH! That's why the temperature spell hadn't been strong, it was an improvised transfiguration curse!

"CCCAAAEEEEDRRRIIICCCKKK!" I shrieked at the top of my lungs, hands balling into fists.

"Is there anyway you can undo it before DADA?" Oliver murmured, looking at me sympathetically.

"No," I snapped, scrubbing at the scales on my wrist. "Cedric's sssaaaa Transssfiguration ace, it's his best sssubject! This'll hourssss to weehhhar off!"

"What? Careful Fin, when you talk so quickly I can't understand your accent…" Val mumbled, cocking her head to look at me.

"Waily waily poor you, just go up to the infirmary." Jedda muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Personally, I think it's beautiful. But at the same time, you're scary enough without the whole serpent thing going on." Oliver murmured gently, looking mildly embarrassed.

"You know, Fin, I'm not going to lie to you: The Slytherin's are going to have a ball with this." Valerie replied, shaking her head and trying to stifle her giggles.

"Where is pretty boy, you turn him into a badger?" Jedda asked, looking around curiously. No sooner had the words left her lips then the raucous laughter began, preceding Cedric's entrance onto the stairwell. He was a bright, florescent devious pink! He turned towards us, scowling his pink head off.

"YOU!!" We snarled at each other in unison.

"Hahaha!! Look at you, Ceddy. I shall call you…Magenta!" Valerie sprinted down the stairs with her arms open. Cedric side-stepped but had enough decency to catch her wrist and stop her pelting forward into a group of disgruntled Hufflepuff's. She grappled until she could get her arms around his waist, chanting cheerfully. "You shall be my Magenta, my Magenta you shall be!"

"Val! GET OFF!" He gave her a gentle but firm shove and she stumbled away, still giggling. I stormed down the steps toward him, feeling mildly disjointed as I did so. Cedric grinned ruefully at me as I stormed up to him.

"SSSSeeedric Diggory, I demand you remove thisss curssse immediately!" I hissed, doing a full-bodied and completely involuntary undulation.

"Your slithering, Findabhair."

"Your lucky I'm not venomous, you prahhhhttt!" I hissed, glaring down at him.

"Everyone knows you don't have to be venomous to spit poison." Cho snapped, pushing aside some Hufflepuffs so that she could stand beside Cedric. She took his hand and my fury reached new heights when I saw how he didn't object to the intimate contact.

"And everyone knows you don't have to be ugly to be a bitch, but somehow you still manage." Jedda snapped from behind me.

"Ruhhn along, little fifth year, ssssomething tellsss me you'hve got a classss your missssinghhhaaa." I snapped, feeling like all the muscles in my shoulders and neck had tensed. The hissing sounded menacing instead of ridiculous as I glared downed at her, fingers tightening on my wand. Cho's resolve seemed to leave her an she released Cedric's hand and took a careful step back.

"Well, _some _girls _like _pink." She smirked at me, and then slunk off. Valerie spat in her direction and gave Cedric a disgusted look before coming to stand beside me.

"Are you going to fix this?" Cedric asked me, glowering.

"Enjoy being pink." I said heartlessly and turned and stormed into class with everyone at my heels. I plunked myself down in a desk at the front. Cedric, glimmering like a flourescent beacon, sat at the back of the class, as far from me as he could get.

"Today," Professor Moody strode up and down the rows of desks, magical eye spinning crazily. It paused when it came to me and then moved on to Cedric, and then back again. A small smile played at the corner of his scarred lips. "We work on the patronus charm. Can anyone who is not a Ravenclaw," We put our hands down. "Tell me what this charm does."

"It's a defense against dementors, sir." Cedric sang out from behind me, his voice uncharacteristically superior.

"O'Brien. Elaborate."

"It'sss ssa charm that is cassst to keep aht bay aahhttackers who try to effect the mhind in a negativve way. Dementorsss are one exssample. To cassst-" Moody waved his wand at me, rolling his eyes. I felt a sharp pain in my tongue and coughed to clear my throat. "Excuse me, to cast the spell successfully, one has to think of a joyful memory or feel great happiness. The Patronus manifests itself most commonly into an animal that has a special significance to the caster, hence 'patronus' or 'protector'." I recited cleanly, giving a more complicated definition than necessary. I heard Cedric groan and could almost feel him rolling his eyes.

"Thank you, Ms. O'Brien. You may pair up with Mr. Diggory."

"What?!" We both declared in unison, outraged.

"You heard me, now pair up! All of you!" I kept my eyes down and wouldn't look at Cedric as we moved our desks out of the way and cleared the floor. Then we stood across from each other stiffly alongside the rest of the class. Val grinned apologetically at me.

"This spell is much more difficult then it sounds. These have to be your happiest memories, otherwise, it wont work. I don't expect you all to get a full-bodied patronus today, but do your best. The incantation is: Expecto Patronum. You may begin." Moody said gruffly.

"_Expecto Patriotism!_" Valerie sang out happily at Lisa Turpin and a burst of red, white and blue sparks erupted from the tip of her wand with a bang. Moody rolled his eyes and sagged in his chair a little. Val shrugged and let Roger step forward and cast against Jedda. A cloud of silvery whiteness drifted from his wand like smoke. And so it went down the line until it reached Cedric and I. Staring him down, I developed not a happy memory, but the happiest thought I could think: Picturing a perfect world in which he loved me as much as I loved him and where my parents had not been Deatheaters, where I could maim Cho and not get in trouble for it... Corny, yes, but totally workable.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" The spell knocked me backwards with its strength, something jumping from the tip of my wand: An ocelot! Like a tiny leopard, she crept forward, fangs bared. Her tail swept from side to side and she pounced, knocking Cedric backwards. "There we go! Excellent! Fifty points to Ravenclaw! Now, Diggory, let's see if you've got your foster-sister's skill!"

"But sir-" Cedric was getting up and brushing himself off, looking affronted.

"Counter her spell, Diggory!" Moody snapped gruffly, glancing over at me. "She certainly had no trouble attacking you."

Did I imagine Cedric's wince? He seemed to recover too quickly for that, holding his wand at the ready and putting out an arm to steady his aim.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" The shield faltered in some places, not strong enough to hold me at bay if I was a dementor.

"A happier memory, Diggory. Come on, lad! Focus!" Cedric's face hardened at the criticism and he released his failed attempt, letting it dissipate. He caught my eye and I stopped breathing. The look in his bright eyes was so intense, so passionate, so frightening. The silver hazel glinted brightly, all the striations of gold and emerald and bronze. The breathtakingly handsome face, the joy that I could tell was building behind those eyes…the soft lips as they pulled up into a smile.

"_Expecto Patronum!" Out of his wand burst a silvery blue fox, who landed delicately and sat, sweeping her tale underneath her and gazing at me with bright, cunning eyes. There was something strangely familiar about the vixen and her pricked ears. She let out a playful bark and disappeared with a wave of Moody's wand. I looked back at Cedric and found that he wasn't aghast by his own creation, but staring at me, a dreamy smile playing around the corner of his lips. He'd also been knocked back by the force of the spell, bubblegum pink hair in disarray. _

"_Superb! Fifty points to Hufflepuff for a masterful use of the patronus charm. Though next time, Diggory-" Cedric seemed to revive slightly at the sound of his name. "You'll want to focus your patronus a little more."_

"_Yeah, right, thanks." He muttered, blissful expression dissolving into a scowl._

"_Findabhair! FIN!" Jedda hissed from behind me. I turned to look at her and she waggled her eyebrows and winked at me._

"_What?" I mouthed at her, perplexed. In my confusion, I forgot that I was in Professor Moody's class and earned myself a sound wallop in the ankle with his cane. "OUCH!"_

"_Now, Ms. O'Brien, if you'll be so kind as to pay attention, what is the significance of an ocelot to you?"_

"_Um, sorry, what?" I rubbed my smarting ankle and tried to make sense of his request._

" _Don't just sit there and gawk! An ocelot, girl, your patronus!" I dodged another cane swipe and rushed to answer him:_

"_Oh, that…er…I'm not really sure," He raised the cane threateningly and I continued. "But I think it's because I like cats, I admire their stealth and beauty…er, and their hunting skill!"_

"_Yes, cats do like to toy with their prey. They pride themselves on their aloof attitudes…yes, very appropriate." I stood their gaping, not sure whether this was a compliment or an insult. Valerie and Jedda were all but rolling around on the floor in hysterics. Moody seemed to be grinning, but it was hard to tell with all the scars._

"_Diggory?"_

"_Er, Yes?" Cedric looked suddenly nervous, adam's apple bobbing up and down. Ha, let him squirm!_

"_How is a fox significant to you?" Before Cedric could even open his mouth, someone let out a high-pitched and bubbly giggle. The entire class turned to see Jedda losing it, her face buried in an uncomfortable Davies shoulder as she tittered nonstop._

"_No, no, go on! I can handle it! I am…okay." She took a deep breath and replaced the smile with a grim expression. Moody glared at her for a second longer and turned back to Cedric._

"_Go on, Diggory."_

"_Well, I think a fox represents intelligence and cunning; a certain type of elusive charm. They are playful, yet fierce. Fox also serves as an alternate term to refer to a physically attractive person, they're quick-witted…" He trailed off a little there, trying to determine whether or not he needed to elaborate further. _

"_Is this what you admire about them, foxes in general? Or are these the personality traits that you see in someone else who you admire?" Moody rubbed his chin thoughtfully and I ground my teeth. Probably the silly little twit he wanted to ask to Yule. Cedric looked like a frightened mouse as he stared back at Moody blankly, no doubt listening to the sporadic giggling of the girls in the class and the boys groans. _

"_Don't worry, lad, I'm not asking you to tell me." Moody was definitely grinning now as the bell tolled for next period and we filed out. I got stuck next to Ced, of course. _

"_Are you going to get rid of this for me?" He grumbled at me, pointing to his bright pink coif. Val, behind him in line, could barely contain her giggle of 'Magenta'. He glared at her menacingly and then turned back to me. "So?"_

"_No, I don't think I will." My ire rose at the thought of the girl who personified his fox patronus._

"_Why not!?" He demanded angrily, batting away his popular 'friends' pointing fingers and trying to ignore their jeering._

"_Because you're a right tosssser, that's why!" I snarled, flicking him in the face with my hair as I turned and marched off, tears glinting in my eyes._


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, my two lovely reviewers! I'm going to go back and add an authors note to every chapter as well as a dedication at the beginning, but I just haven't had time. Just wanted to give you a heads-up that things get much more interesting from here on in, so have fun. I'm sorry the chapters are so long, but I've tried to make it worth the read. As a point of interest, Disenchanted and this fic are connected, I'll let you figure out how... :) They can be read separately however and the events of Disenchanted are not vital to the understanding of SCK(which I feel like is better written, but whatever). Anyhow, that doesn't matter I'm rambling. Enjoy this chapter!**

A few days later, I was still in a rage about the whole thing. The scales and the hissing had eventually worn off, as had the fangs and the urge to sway back and forth while angered. Cedric's hair had almost resumed its normal colour, but we still weren't speaking to one another. Fred and George had been delighted by the whole fight, not to mention what we'd done to each other. However, in an attempt to be repentant, they offered to send him a skiving snack box tester for Christmas, an offer I quickly declined. The snack boxes were a work in progress, and as angry as I was, I wasn't quite ready to _permanently _maim Cedric.

"DAMN it ALL, FRED!!" I shouted, spitting out a mouthful of feathers and glaring at him. "What was in that pastry?"

"Hmm, never tried these on blonde's, but you look good with golden feathers. Everyone else turned into a canary, but you look more like a goldfinch. Huh, Oi, George!" He called over his shoulder as I brushed the golden feathers off my arms angrily. The entire class was in hysteric's as we filed out of McGonagall's room.

"Very sexy." Eli grinned at me, pulling feather out of my hair.

"Give me one of those things!" Alex snatched a custard from George's hand and shoved it in his mouth, chewing vigorously.

"Canary Creams! Unless you happen to be a freak and turn into a goldfinch, like Fin here." I groaned and threw up my hands in disgust, some stray feathers fluttering to the ground as I molted. George threw an arm around my shoulder and grinned at me.

"Come on, you have to admit that was pretty funny. Care for a jam tart?"

"Will I turn into a lizard?"

"No, these ones are fine, promise." There was a squawk as Alex burst into feathers behind me. I took a jam tart and bit into it cautiously, the tangy raspberry jam sweet on my tongue.

"Hey, where's Cedric?" Terry Boot asked, turning the tart to ash in my mouth. It almost hurt to swallow. Valerie made a strangled sound and looked over at me.

"What?!" I snapped angrily, throwing the rest of my tart at her. She ducked and it hit a passing Slytherin in the face. The girl turned and, wiping the jam off her cheek, flashed me a very rude hand gesture.

"Yeah, you just keep walking!" I snarled at her, my teeth clenched in frustration.

"Was it something I said?" Terry looked up at me innocently, blinking his huge, bright blue eyes. I made an annoyed sound and glared down at him, my patience at an end.

"Remember how I said that one of these days, I was going to go on a random hexing spree against the younger classmen? Today is that day-" He was gone faster then you could say 'duck' and I smiled after his retreating back, turning down the hall that lead to potions. Listening to Snape make the Hufflepuff's lives misery would help my state of mind considerably…

"Hey, we've got to learn the waltz with Flitwick now, remember?" Valerie caught my shoulder and dragged me in the opposite direction.

"What-? Oh right, the Yule ball." I followed her in the other direction, sighing.

"Hey," Val asked gently, prodding my shoulder. "Hey, Fin. Easy, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing…so, have you got a date?" I asked brightly, trying to look happy for her sake. She beamed at me and shook her head.

"You know I wouldn't want to go unless I had a really hot date. You know how I cant stand dances…but you, you usually like them, what's up?" She pressed urgently, poking me in the stomach.

"Who's this date?" I changed the subject, grinning at her. I saw the two needs in her brain waging war against each other: The almost pathological need to figure out what was bothering me and the equally as frantic need to divulge the identity of her boyfriend. I had no doubt which need would win.

"I can't tell you who he is!" She laughed, full of excitement.

"Wow, this guy must be something."

"A Durmstrang something…" She whispered under her breath.

"Durmstrang? I thought you had a thing for Davies-"

"SHUSH!! You're supposed to use his nickname!" She chastised, glancing around furtively and smacking me.

"Ow! How the hell am I supposed to remember his nickname when it's- "

"Broomstick."

"That doesn't make any sense! I mean, why do we call him--" She had this weird half smile on her face and my stomach flipped in disgust as I realized. "Eew. That was really, really nasty. I didn't need that kind of visual. He's my Quidditch captain-"

"Hey, look! That's where we're supposed to be meeting! C'mon!" We rushed down the hall and entered the room just as the door was closing on Alicia Spinnett.

"Ah! Perfect timing! O'Brien, over here if you please!" Professor Flitwick called and I darted through the crowd."Yes, Professor?" I asked warily.

"Now, if I'm not mistaken, Amos Diggory told me you and your brother-"

"Cedric." I corrected automatically. His face fell for a moment and he frowned.

"Well, yes, of course, Cedric. That you both had a certain aptitude for dancing. Is that right?" He smiled up at me from the crates upon which he stood. I glanced around, frightened someone might pounce on me at any moment.

"Yes." I said, trying to figure out what he was getting at.

"Well, then you can help us, the both of you." He clapped his hands together and before I could object, beckoned Ced down from the benches set up around the room.

"But…I-!" Gritting my teeth I turned to see Ced leap lithely from the lowest bench, confident smile in place. He saw me and scowled, turning to Professor Flitwick.

"Yes, sir?"

"I was just asking your sister-"

"Findabhair." We said in unison, glaring at each other.

"-About your dancing talents, I am correct in assuming you can both perform the waltz?" He squeaked, looking between Cedric and I.

"Yes."

"Well, then! That settles it! You see, Professor Sprout and I were going to demonstrate. However, our height difference-"

"So what about Snape and McGonagall?" Cedric asked quickly, arms folded over his chest. His comment stung me, as did his reluctance. Flitwick seemed to hesitate for a moment, maybe perceiving the tension between us.

"Well, they thought it would be best if two students demonstrated. The two of you draw more attention-" I was going to have to disagree with him there. I'd have been riveted if I could see Snape and McGonagall being forced to dance with one another. Just waiting for them to hex each other's brains out…it would have been fascinating. "So, if you please-"

We stared stonily at one another and I unfolded my arms and held out a hand to him with a weary sigh. At the same time as being utterly disgusted by him, I felt a strange thrill when he took my hand and pulled me closer. He stared down at me, poker-faced as I set my hands on his shoulder. The tips of his bangs were still florescent pink and I snickered softly under my breath; dislodging a small, yellowish feather from my hair.

"-very good." Flitwick was saying something in the background. "Now, O'Brien and Diggory will demonstrate the waltz for you. Take her waist." He urged Ced, who did so with a slightly exasperated look on his face. Professor Sprout set the needle to an old-fashioned record player and it began to play(of all the horrible tunes it could have chosen, it picked the worst.) 'A Cauldron Full of Strong, Hot Love'. Ced and I snorted simultaneously and our classmates started to laugh loudly.

"So," I began quietly, not having forgotten his comment about Snape and McGonagall. "Glad to see you're still pink."

"Got a hold of a Canary Cream, did you?" He took huge strides as we waltzed around the hall. "You fixed the sssscale problem, too, it looksss like."

"Have you asked that harpy out to the dance yet? Whoever she is?" I hissed, grinding my teeth and changing the subject.

"No, I haven't. But I heard that Goyle was looking for you…huh, there he is now, leering." I winced and steered us so that Flitwick couldn't see before stomping on his foot. He gasped a little and glared at me, taking a huge step forward so I had to compensate.

"Valerie and I were discussing it today," I mused. "We were thinking it was probably someone like Millicent Bullstrode, or maybe Eloise Midgen. Figured they were the only two you'd have enough courage to ask, you know?"

"You've been talking to Valerie about it?!" He paled, and almost forgot to take a step back for my step forward.

"Why not? She doesn't gossip…much." I grinned up at him angelically. 'Much' was a dramatization, Valerie never gossiped, especially if it was something I had confided to her. He had no reason to worry.

"Who else have you told?" He glared at me, teeth clenched.

"Oh, I dunno…why's it matter? If you just told me who she was, I could ask her for y-"

"No! I want to do it myself."

"Why?" I asked as he moved his other hand to my waist and picked me up. A strange warmth blossomed in my stomach and I tried to quash it as he set me back down. It struck me then, just how incredibly good-looking he was. Gorgeous, in fact. There wasn't a single other boy here who could compete with him.

"Because I'd feel like a dolt if you did it for me. I want it to be special, I think I really like her." He looked excited as he said it, his lips twitching at the corners as his happiness shown out from behind the scowl.

"I forgive you for being an idiot." I blurted before I could consider the thought fully. He blinked at me in surprise as the song came to an end, opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

"Well, okay then…I'm sorry I was a git. And I forgive you for not being more…understanding." I wanted to disagree, but in favor of keeping the uncomfortable truce, I smiled and nodded.

"Marvelous!" Flitwick gushed enthusiastically as Ced and I returned to the benches, his to the right with the rest of the boys and I to the girls on the left. "Now, the rest of you! Pair up! Quickly, now!"

With a mixed echo of groans and giggles, everyone stood up to find a partner. Snape and McGonagall stalked around, making sure we were partnering up girl boy. I sighed and stood, seeing Ernie Macmillan searching desperately for a partner in the middle of the floor.

"Hey, Ern?" I called, grabbing Susan Bones by her ponytail and dragging her around so she faced him, ignoring her protests and shoving her into him. There, my good deed done for the day, I went to return to my seat.

"Oh no, you don't, O'Brien." McGonagall caught me by the arm.

"But Professor, I just-"

"Wood?" She called shrilly and Oliver stood up with a sigh. She handed him my elbow with an expression of relief and bent to whisper to me out of the corner of her mouth:

"Good luck." She straightened and stalked off to catch Fred and George, who were trying to sneak off unnoticed amid the crowd.

"Hey, Oliver." I grinned and removed my elbow from his grasp, holding out my hand and wiggling my fingers. "Why the long face, kiddo?"

" I can't dance."

"That's okay, it's really all about who's steering. That's usually the guy, but we'll make an exception for you." I laughed and spun him around.

"Woot." He muttered unenthusiastically. "I'm going to step on your feet."

"You'll be fine, it's easy as Quidditch." I laughed and took his shoulders, stretching a little. He was a little taller than Cedric so I had to get closer to him in order to reach. He set his hands around my-

"Okay! Right idea, but you're a little low! That's not my waist, Oliver." I repositioned him so that his fingers gripped a little above my hips.

"Oh! Sorry, Fin!" He winced and went pink with embarrassment.

"Don't worry." I laughed at his scowl.

"Remind me when I have to pick you up." He assumed a look of boredom as we started to dance.

"Oh. Ouch! Hey…oh!" He did step on my feet…a lot.

"I'm sorry." He winced and gave me a desperate look.

"It's okay, Oliver. Just let me show you…step forward as I step back….good…back!" I stepped forward and smacked into his solid chest as he tried to bunny hop away from my feet. He swore and we turned sharply to avoid Valerie and Summerby who were whirling about vigorously.

"Okay, you can pick me up now--AAH!!" I yelped as he dropped me and I landed hard on my feet before losing my balance and falling on my bum. Ow. The soles of my feet ached as he scooped me back up.

"Ow! Oliver, easy. That really hurt…" I rubbed the small of my back. I heard him muttering something about quaffles being easier to handle under his breath and ignored it. Mercifully, the song came to the end less then a minute later, coming to a close with a grand finale when(unmercifully) Oliver tripped over his own feet and fell on me. I cracked my head on the stone floor and gasped for breath.

"FIN!! Oh Merlin, I killed her!" Oliver moaned, kneeling over me.

"And, to add insult to injury, you goosed her, too." George cackled manically.

"Your sitting on my lungs!" I groaned, shoving him off. Roger rushed over to my side and helped lift Wood off me, glaring at him.

"I don't remember giving you permission to dry hump my chaser, Wood."

"Shove off, Davies." Fred snapped from across the hall. "He fell on her."

"As a member of Ravenclaw house, I reserve exclusive rights to any pelvic thrusting-"

"Shut up, Roger." I coughed, dragging myself to my feet.

"Fin." Oliver smothered me in a hug, stroking my hair. Okay, that was weird.

"Oliver, I forgive you." I murmured into his chest, the smell of his cologne so strong it was burning my nose. "Your suffocating me." I squirmed away under his arm and looked around.

"You got the better end of the stick, Fin. Look who Ced's trying to get away from…I almost pity him." George snickered and I turned to see Ced grappling with a Slytherin girl who had wrapped her arms so tightly around his waist he had no hope of getting away. Something flared sickeningly in my stomach, a spark of rage….and oddly enough, jealousy. The sudden, strong, uncontrollable emotions lashed through me and I raised my wand: "_Relashio!_" The spell whipped from the tip of my wand and hit her square in the back of her head and she let go with a squeal. It was so strong it knocked her back a step and I shoved my wand back in my bag as Ced looked up to search for his savior.

"Fin, you look like your going to kill-"

"Get out of my way!" I snarled, shouldering my bag and shoving past George and out the door.

I was still brooding about the whole fiasco when lunchtime came, the headache I'd gotten from Oliver flattening me a constant reminder of the jealous outburst.

"You know, the pheasants already dead, you don't have stab it like that." Luna stared at me with her googly eyes. I whipped my head around and glared at her.

"I'm not trying to kill the pheasant, I'm killing _Nargals_." I hissed viciously, shoveling forkfuls into my mouth. Valerie snorted into her Yorkshire pudding.

"My, you're grumpy today." Luna admonished lightly, taking a sip of pumpkin juice from her goblet. If I hadn't known her well enough, I'd have thought she was mocking me. Before I could reply, something flew and hit me right on the bruised part of my head.

"Heads up." Val said belatedly as I swore so loudly several people turned to gawk.

"What are you looking at?" I snapped angrily and they looked away. "What hit me?"

"This," Luna said, holding up a parchment airplane. I took it from her and unfolded it carefully. Inside it read:

**We heard you could **_**really **_**dance, not just the waltz, either. Care to show the school a few moves? Room of Requirement? Just before Filch makes his rounds? Right your answer and send it back.**

**F&G**

"What's it say?" Luna asked, arranging her lunch into a mosaic.

"Ahem," Val tried to peer at the words over my shoulder, balancing her elbow precariously on a pitcher of pumpkin juice so she could lean over the table. I shrugged away from her unconsciously, eyes on the letter.

"They want me to teach the older classmen to dance." I murmured quietly, fishing a quill out of my bag to write a reply.

"Who?"

"Fred and George, of course." Val rolled her eyes. "Hey…"

"Hmm?" I dipped the tip of the quill in a small bottle of ink and set it to the paper.

"Hey!" Valerie snatched my wrist and shook it, an anxious look on her face. "They used the wrong write!"

"So? It's Fred and George."

"So, fix it!"

"Why?" I asked, tacking on a sentence at the beginning:

_You used the wrong right. Describe what you mean by 'the school'. And I can't show you how to dance if I haven't got an equally as competent partner. I only know the girls moves._

_~Fox._

I signed it and enchanted it with my wand, shooting it across the gap between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables at ground level, so it was less likely the teachers would get a hold of it. I saw them read what I'd wrote and grin to each other, slapping high-fives as they wrote back.

**Just a few friends, you can trust us. As for a partner, doesn't Pretty Boy Hufflepuff know the guys moves, you could both teach us**.

I winced and reread the letter. Cedric certainly did know those moves, and I should probably just get over it and dance with him. In fact, some part of me yearned desperately to dance with him. It was so strong it was an ache in my chest, persistent and throbbing. I was lost for a too brief moment in a fantasy: Dancing across the floor with Cedric, wearing a beautiful white dress and having him stare into my eyes like I was the only thing that had ever mattered in the entire world…I sucked in a breath and reigned in my over-active imagination. I could not think of those things, the things that would never be.

By agreeing to dance with Ced was like agreeing to rip out my heart so everyone could stomp on it. To cause immeasurable pain to my psyche by letting it fantasize about impossibilities. I took my quill and wrote back my reply, feeling the entire time like I was writing away my soul:

_Okay, but ask Ced for me. Make sure it's okay with him. Meet you in the Room of Requirement at 8:00._

I sent the note back with a sigh of defeat, not even bothering to watch their reaction to the news. It would be happy, at least I could make someone smile these days. I played with the food on my plate, chasing a piece of broccoli around the rim. What was I going to _do_? The Yule ball was in two days and still, no boy had even approached me.

"_They're all scared of you, Fin." _Ced had told me once when I bemoaned my lack of relationship history_._

"_Scared of me?"_

"_Yeah…I'd be terrified you'd bite my head off, and I know you."_

"_But, why?"_

"_Sometimes you get this look in your eye, I can't describe it, really. It's what makes boys like you in the first place, but scares the hell out of them to ask you out. Don't worry, one of these days there'll be a boy worthy of your attentions."_

"Hey, you look like somebody beat you at Quidditch. Chin up." Val, pointed her fork at me and spoke through her mouthful.

I groaned and resisted the urge to take the butter knife and stab myself in the stomach with it. A note smacked me in the forehead and I winced and fished it out of the salad bowl, unfolding it wearily.

**_8:00? Do you know who they're inviting to this?_**

I grimaced ruefully, Ced didn't have to sign his name for me to recognize his handwriting. And luckily, written notes didn't have the kind of resentful tone face to face confrontations had. He had, however sent the letter rather forcefully. I glanced up at him, sitting there with the populars. He looked calm and at ease, smiling even. Were we forgiving each other now, or what?

_8:00's the plan. I don't know, they wont tell me. We're getting a reputation though, and we don't even dance_.

**_Compared to this bunch, we're dancers. So, why are you doing it?_**

_For fun, I guess._

I didn't really know why I was doing this, but I was. Then again, what did I really have to do tonight anyway, apart from mountains of homework? Okay, what a lie. I wanted an excuse to dance with Ced without it looking awkward and without us glaring daggers at one another.

**_Has anyone asked you to the Yule ball yet?_**

My heart did something funny as I read the words and I clawed at it through my chest, trying to stop it's queer twisting. _I wish you would._ The thought leapt unbidden to my mind and I had trouble thinking of what to say back. Finally, I settled on one word:

_No_.

I was abnormally anxious as I waited for his reply, and I kept forgetting to breathe. Why was he asking me that? Probably just curious. Of course he was just curious. I bit my tongue and kicked myself in the shins, punishing myself for letting my imagination run away with me again. But I would have had to bite through my tongue to have even competed with the pain in my heart.

**_No? Your kidding, no offers at all? Come on, I want to know. REALLY._**

I bit my lip until I tasted blood. Ugh. I would be the one girl without a date. How depressing. No one had asked me, that was the really sad thing. And Valerie, who I'd always kind of counted on, had a date. I looked up at her. She was happily digging away at what looked like a stack of waffles, drizzling them with every kind of condiment known to both muggle and magic kind. Oblivious of my inner turmoil in her waffle quest. Good for her, I should have the stupid, immature teenage part of my nature in better check. I shouldn't have to lean on her, not unless I really needed it.

Luna was sitting on my left, rolling her spaghetti onto her fork. She looked up and saw me watching her and smiled, her huge eyes taking on a deep look. And on the strangest level, I felt like she understood me in her own way. Anastsia and Olympia were blathering away at light speed about a new muggle phenomenon called manga. Danica was pensively studying her Arithmancy and nibbling at a cracker, normal as ever. No, I couldn't bother them about it now.

Jedda was studying for potions, a blank, expressionless look on her face. She flipped a couple of pages and took a sip of the coffee she'd learned to brew for herself, dark and thick and loaded with way too much caffeine. Maybe I could tell her about my problems, after all, it wasn't like I would be ruining _her_ good mood. But then again, Jedda would just give me a snarky answer to a stupid question. As I watched her, she looked up and gave me her long-suffering day-of-the-living-dead look.

"What?" Her flat, uninterested voice told me everything I needed to know.

"Erm…nothing." I chickened out and returned to my pumpkin juice. Staring into my empty cup, I sighed. Seemed like Val was going to be the lucky one around Yule. I was happy for her, but at the same time, it made me feel inadequate. Why did life suck?

_REALLY. No offers. NOT kidding._

_(Why do you care, anyway?)_

I added the last line hesitantly, feeling very bitchy after sending it. But it was kind of an insult, that he didn't believe me after I'd written it the first time. Or maybe he was just humoring me, maybe I was just really unattractive, maybe…The parchment plane bumped gently against my shin and floated up to land in my lap.

_**Of course I care, I'm your brother.**_

Brother!? My brother? He was NOT my brother. He was my foster sibling. I raised my fist and slammed it down hard against the tabletop, startling Terry Boot so badly he shrieked and fell backwards off the bench, upsetting a bowl of custard as he fell. Valerie started and made a loud sound of dismay as custard splattered over her waffles. Anastasia climbed Olympia's back and Danica wiped some yellow goop off her face with a cry. Jedda simply removed her potions book from the path of the rapidly spreading custard sea and continued to read, absolutely un-phased.

"What is your problem!? Twitchy!" I snapped viciously, glaring at Terry as he scrambled back into his seat. Valerie looked over at me and scowled slightly, raising an eyebrow. _What the hell?_ Her expression said as she shrugged and dug into her custard covered waffles.

"God, Boot, your such a klutz." I snatched up the bowl before anymore of the thick dessert could spill out over the table top. Val made a mumbling sound through her mouthful that sounded disapproving. Forcing myself to be calm, I plunked back down on the bench and flicked my quill across the parchment so furiously ink splattered everywhere.

_Whatever, I don't want to fight again._

_**Fight about what?**_

Fight about what? What do you think?! Sometimes, Cedric could be so perfectly obtuse. I was aware of all the eyes on me as I penned the two words:

_Forget it._

I was thoroughly annoyed with myself for even talking about fighting, and his interrogation was starting to bug me. I wanted to scream at him: _Why NOT me? WHY NOT?!_ Because he doesn't care, of course. I kicked myself again and ignored the note when it fell in the salad this time. I glared at it and mouthed the word 'no'. It shot up and tried to poke me again and I battered it away. The poking got more persistent and I finally had to grab it when it tried to wedge itself up my left nostril. So furious I nearly ripped the paper in half, I unfolded it and read the words written there:

_**I'm sorry, you're right. It's none of my business. See you tonight.~ The Great Prat**_

The Great Prat. It was one of my favorite nicknames for him when he was being an idiot. I instantly felt a horrible twinge of guilt for being so angry. I heard Terry sigh across from me, his spoon clinking against his bowl. I picked up a napkin and held it out to him without looking up to meet his eyes.

"Um, thanks." He took it from my hand and I nodded, fighting back the wave of bleak emotion that was threatening to crush me.

_Sorry.~ The Bipolar Ravenclaw_

_~*~_

"This is not just a _few _friends, this is the _entire _year." I hissed at the twins as they greeted kids coming through the doors.

"Well, what can I say, Findabhair? Word got around…" Fred laughed as I stormed off to stand by Cedric. Oliver slunk in last, looking around the room of requirement with a hopeless expression on his face.

"It's going to be a long night." Cedric whispered in my ear as he saw him.

"You get to teach him the guys moves, because I always screw them up. Show him how to pick someone up without dropping them…please." I mumbled, glad when Cedric chuckled a little at my sort of humorous rendition of the truth.

"Right, so! Listen up, you lot!" Fred shouted over the excited murmurings.

"You know, it's a good thing Dad got us used to being the center of attention at a young age." Ced whispered out of the corner of his smile.

"Yeah," I returned his grin. "Otherwise, we'd never survive."

"So, who wants to learn some real dancing?!" The crowd bellowed and shouted their encouragement.

"Hey! I've got a question!" Zacharias Smith shouted over the rooley-booley .

"Yeah?" I called, curious.

"Got a date to the ball yet, Fox?"

"No, she doesn't." Cedric called before I could answer. "You asking, Smith?"

"No, of course he isn't asking." I said loudly, feeling horrible for letting him down but at the same time relieved. I couldn't go with Smith, no matter how lonely I'd be. Better to suffer and endure then to force myself to date someone I didn't really like. Ced shot me a confused look and I changed the subject. "Right, guys! Let's do this! Somebody tune in to the WW Network, turn it to something with a beat." Fred and George cheered and searched about for a song as I stretched with Ced.

"Celebrity status, all in one year." I muttered to him, trying to touch my toes.

"Triwizard Champion." He snorted under his breath, arching his back so the vertebrae popped.

"This really is silly, I mean we don't even dance. If your Mum hadn't forced us to go to those lessons with the muggles, we wouldn't even know how. Why did we have to go, again?" Cedric started to laugh and cracked his knuckles.

"The neighbors got suspicious when they saw we weren't doing any extracurricular activities with their kids."

"Oh yeah, didn't you have to take piano?" I snickered, he'd actually really liked the instrument but felt kind of embarrassed admitting it.

"You took violin." He reminded me. "But at least we took dance together, and the swim team."

"Yeah, because Amos went overboard." I rolled my eyes and slid down into a split. Ced looked at me incredulously.

"You can still do that?"

"Yeah," I blushed a little at his impressed tone of voice and stood up.

"WHOOP!" The song was a Weird Sisters composition, 'Bewitching'.

"OH! HA haha!" Someone wolf whistled and I laughed, flashing them a rude sign over my shoulder.

"Let's jive, turkey!" Val shouted loudly, "Woot!"

"What?" As a whole, we all turned to stare at her.

"You know…like 'jive'? Dance? Aw, forget it! You guys are so…whatever. Freaks." She muttered under her breath, sitting back down. Strangely enough, it wasn't embarrassing to be dancing with Cedric like this, it was thrilling. I held out my hand and he spun me, whipping me around to catch me.

"Easy and don't drop me!" I reminded him, having come within just inches of hitting the floor. He laughed and spun me back around, catching me on the other side.

"I'll never drop you." He whispered in my ear. Something about the way he said it caused an unfamiliar explosion of feeling to chase itself around the pit of my stomach.

"Yeah, right." I muttered sarcastically, trying to cover up the shudder of delight that his words had triggered. He laughed, picking me up and setting me on his shoulders, so I could address the others. That strange thrill chased through my stomach again and I sucked in a breath. _Stop it!_ I commanded myself and recovered.

"Alright, so dancing. We're not experts, but we'll tell you what you need to know. Girls over here," I pointed, setting my hands on Ced's shoulders and using him as a springboard to jump off of. "Blokes over there." I waved my hand lazily in Ced's direction.

"First, some basic moves-" And then it began, a detailed instruction on one dance after another, step by step. Cedric and I had to pair up occasionally to show them moves which involved partners, each time he touched me, it was like the air had been charged with a wild electricity. Stupid, really. I mean it wasn't like I'd never danced with him before, but all those times it had never been so serious, I guess.

"Come on, you! Try it by yourselves!" We went around and corrected the faults as best we could, laughing the entire time. I would later look back on it as one of the most enjoyable experiences of my entire time at Hogwarts. I danced with a couple of boys who were still having trouble with the moves yet somehow miraculously figured it out as soon as I came by to teach them.

"Fin?" Cedric called from where he and Ernie were tutoring Oliver.

"Yeah?" I replied, supporting Alicia's weight so that Summerby wouldn't drop her. He beckoned me over and I made sure she was safely on her feet before coming over. "Mm?"

"Have a dance?" Ced asked, gesturing to Oliver, who grinned sheepishly at me.

"Sure!" Oh boy. Here we go again.

Oliver took my hand and, to my surprise, we glided across the floor. It wasn't effortless, but it wasn't as painful as I'd expected. He took my waist, picking me up and set me back down again lightly, never missing a beat. I grinned back at him and winked as the song ended."I'm impressed." I laughed, "Miracles really do happen, don't they?"

"I guess so." Oliver chuckled, looking down at me with a fond expression. It was almost too sweet, too gentle a smile.

"Olive?" I prompted.

"Yeah?"

"You haven't eaten anything from Fred and George lately, right?"

"No, of course not. Why?" His voice was so soft. I took my hand from his shoulders and snapped my fingers in his face, startling him.

"Because you look like you've achieved Nirvana." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Huh?"

"That's better." I laughed and let him spin me in a lazy circle. I could see Cedric out of the corner of my eye, pacing restlessly from pair to pair and correcting mistakes. When he thought I wasn't looking, he'd cast me a furtive glance. Weird. Ernie was also acting a little funny, staring at Oliver and I, an unfathomable expression on his face. It was halfway between a worried scowl and a small smile.

"Findabhair, you haven't gotten a date yet, have you?" Oliver asked me suddenly, his expression eager.

"Nope," I giggled with a hesitancy that could easily have been mistaken for nervousness rather then a worry about whatever it was that was eating Ernie and Ced. "Too much of a troll, I guess."

"Who said that?" He snapped, almost forgetting to take a step back. He looked outraged by the suggestion.

"I did." I said, surprised.

"You shouldn't say that about yourself, Fin. Your witty and attractive and I'd kill anyone who told you otherwise." The strength of the emotion in his voice was frightening. The song drew to a close and I pulled away from him.

"Uh, thanks."

"But no, I really want to know…" He started, gripping my wrist tightly.

"Hey," Ernie called, interrupting Oliver and tuning in to a song with one of the fastest beats I'd ever heard. Cedric was whispering something in Ern's ear and he was grinning his head off. "Anyone who can keep up with Fin takes her to the Yule Ball!!" He shouted.

"What?!" I gasped. My exclamations and objections were drowned out by the catcalls and screams of approval. Fred stepped out and swept into a low bow, holding out a hand to me.

"Let's do this." I took his hand and whipped him around behind me, whirling like a dervish. The music pounded in my ears as we waltzed across the floor. I threw back my head and laughed, dancing free of any inhibitions. He couldn't take more then one song. Gasping and sweating, he grinned breathlessly at me.

"Sorry, Fred. Too slow." I laughed and shoved him back, dazed. Zacharias Smith was next. He stumbled halfway through his first song and fell. Roger, grinning his idiot head off, stepped forward to take my hand. I bit my lip, uh-oh. Part of our training regiment for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team was something along these lines.

"Let's see what you've got, Roger." I danced faster than I had with the others, trying to keep my confidence as he kept pace easily for the first couple of songs. The fifth song was a wildly seductive beat, thumping and continuous.

"So…Foxy Darling, can you keep up with me?" He asked, his dark eyes catching mine as we swayed like a pair of serpents.

"Easily." I laughed breathlessly, and dodged his foot as it danced out to trip me. He grabbed my waist and pulled me in closer. I heard some 'oohs' from the crowd behind us and groaned. Best to put an end to Roger before he went off into an impromptu striptease. I was going to have to pull a new move. I spun behind his back unexpectedly, twisting his arm back. Eager to keep time with me he turned the wrong way and I had to let go of his hand to avoid hurting him.

"Damn." He breathed amid the laughter and smiled down at me. "I just wanted to prove that I could beat you, I've already got a date."

"Like I'd take you even if you won." I teased, beaming at him to let him know I was kidding.

"You're so sweet, Findabhair." He muttered, rolling his eyes but still keeping his patient smile.

"So, who'd dare risk their reputation by taking you to a social event?" I laughed, hopping up on my tip toes to give him a peck on the cheek for a game well-played. It took an inordinate amount of effort from my already taxed muscles.

"Fleur Delacour, actually." He crowed proudly, laughing at my stunned expression.

"Lucky you, huh?" I laughed and patted him on the back as he trudged wearily back to the stands. Justin Finch-Fletchley couldn't even manage to beat me when I was exhausted, collapsing to the floor at my feet and gasping. I sucked in massive breaths through the sporadic laughter and slapped him an exhausted high five.

"Well, can none of you keep up!?" I laughed weakly, coughing a little.

"Fin?" I turned to see Oliver hop down from the stands, a determined look on his face. It was a good thing it was Oliver, so at least I wouldn't have to struggle. I could last one more dance.

"Last one," I panted. "The rest of you…just ask."

I took Oliver's hand and the music started up for what seemed to be the hundredth time. He was actually keeping up pretty well, Ced really had worked miracles with him. I wondered briefly if he'd used a spell to--my legs did something funny and disorientation clouded my brain. I yelped and tripped over my feet, throwing my hands out to catch my fall. Arms locked around my chest and caught me before I hit the ground.

"Is she okay?" I heard someone ask as Oliver set me back on my feet. I wobbled a little and clutched his shoulders, laughing into his chest and trying to catch my breath.

"I can't believe I'm saying this…But Wood wins!" George announced through his laughter. Maybe it was just post traumatic confusion, but George sounded…a bit too innocent. Oliver kept his arms locked around my shoulders and I panted with exertion, hands shaking.

"Are you alright?" Cedric held out his hands towards me, expression anxious. "I didn't think that would take so much out of you, I'm sorry…I'll take her, Wood."

"No, I've got her." Oliver surprised me, arms tightening around my shoulders. I tried to get my feet underneath me again but they refused to support my weight. I wanted Cedric to hold me up like this, not Oliver. I mean it was nice either way, but I wanted Cedric.

"It's okay, Oliver." I gasped, "Ced's got it."

Oliver reluctantly let me stagger over and cling to Ced like a drowning sailor to a life-preserver. I was laughing hysterically at the irony. Of all the boys out there who could dance, and who had nearly out-danced me, I got Oliver. In the strangest of ways, too. Like my brain had stopped working right for a couple of seconds, just long enough for me to lose it and trip.

"I'm sorry." Cedric apologized again as I tried to get my breath.

"No! No, it's okay…I feel…great!" I gasped and leaned into him, trying to stop laughing. The rest of the kids had started to slip quietly out the door in groups of two or three, hoping to lessen the likelihood of being caught by Filch on his second shift. I finally recovered enough to stand on my own and slow my breathing.

"Oliver…I can't believe it!" I laughed, holding out a hand to him in typical Quidditch fashion. "Good game!"

"Good game. Yeah, excellent. What I mean is, uh, you were great…um…yeah!" He tried to flash me one of those priceless grins and his lips trembled a little. I rolled my eyes.

"So, your taking me to the Ball, then? If you want to?" I asked uncertainly. What if he didn't want to take a loser like me to the ball? Maybe I would get stuck with Malfoy, after all that. The thought made me cringe.

"Really?" He looked surprised and overjoyed, like all of his Christmas's had arrived on the same day.

"Really really. that was part of the plan, according to Ernie." Ernie snorted from behind me and I flashed him a grin. "Oh, and just in case you were wondering, Earnest, I will take my revenge. Mark my words." I threatened, shaking a finger in his direction.

"Great!!" Oliver's reply was explosive and he hugged me again. "I'll meet you in the Great Hall then, for the dance, shall I?"

"Sounds good to me." I shrugged nonchalantly and caught a glimpse of my watch. My heart stopped. "Oh crap!"

"What?!" Ernie turned from his conversation with Cedric, eyes wide. Valerie, who had been pacing impatiently around behind Oliver, stopped in her tracks.

"It's two A.M.!!"

"So?" Ernie snorted, underestimating the seriousness of the situation drastically. The colour had drained from Cedric's face and he stared at me in horror.

"Filch is coming…" Oliver whipped around like the janitor might rush in through the door at any moment. Fred and George stared at each other and burst into hysterical laughter.

"It's not funny, you idiots! Oh why did I let you talk me into doing something illegal!? Before the Yule Ball! What if we get caught, what if-" I gasped angrily, swiping at them

"It's alright, Findabhair! Don't have a tiz…say, whose dormitory's the closest? We could even sleep here for the night, if we needed to." Fred asked, completely relaxed. I glared at him pointedly, if we all showed up to breakfast the next day wearing the same clothes, there were doubtless going to be questions.

"Our's." Ernie and Cedric said in unison.

"Hufflepuff it is, then." George replied merrily, as though that settled the matter.

"Don't joke, we can't do that!" I snarled back, desperate now.

"I'm not joking." He said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

"Fin's right, we can't let you into our Common room." Ernie folded his arms over his chest as though that settled the matter. "It's just not right."

"Not right?" Oliver loomed over him, looking very threatening. "Not right?! I'll tell you what's not right, letting us get caught by Filch, you little Hufflepuff!""What's that supposed to mean, Gryffindor?" Cedric snapped back, staring Wood in the eye. The two were incredibly frightening in those few seconds, but they'd never been more attractive to me. Damn hormones.

"Oh, we're least likely to be caught if we go it on our own." Fred held out his hands in a careless gesture. "I mean, let's face it: George and I…well, we're us. And the Gryffindor Common Room's on the corridors Filch has already checked by now. Hufflepuff is a fair straight shot from here, down by the kitchens where Filch started. Despite the fact your lot wouldn't know the meaning of the word 'subtle' if it bit them in the bum. But Ravenclaw, well, the Astronomy tower's all the way on the western side of the castle, goes right by Filch's office. Thing of it is: it's the girls who are most likely to be caught."

There was sinking feeling in my stomach and I cast Val and anxious glance. She mouthed a swearword over and over again, pleading me to think of something. I had no ideas. Well, I had ideas, but they all sucked. I looked around at the tense expressions and sighed.

"We're going to have to try it on our own." I breathed, turning towards the door.

"Aw, bollocks!" Valerie whimpered, pulling at her hair.

"Are you sure, Fin?" Ced asked, a guilty expression on his face.

"Yeah, definitely. How would you explain it to your house that you let us in, anyway?" I sighed wearily.

"Exactly." Ernie pointed out triumphantly.

"Shut up, Macmillan, or your ass is grass!" Valerie snapped, glaring at him. In times of great stress, Valerie swore like no one I'd ever met. I had to agree with her on this, though. Ernie was being a twit. Val turned towards the door and started to hum a strangely familiar tune.

"What is that?" Oliver asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Mission Impossible. It's a muggle thing." She said curtly and continued to hum.

We crept out the door first, running alongside Oliver's gang. We waved to Ced and Ern as they dashed down the first set of stairs to our right, running furtively along through the shadows. We didn't talk much, but I could hear the faint strains of Val's 'Mission Impossible' behind me as she slunk around quietly.

"Alright, this is where we turn off. Are you sure you can make it? No one would complain if you spent the night on the Gryffindor couch." Fred whispered, looking back at us. As kind as his offer was, _somebody _would definitely mind a pair of Ravenclaws taking shelter in the 'cheaters' common room.

"I wouldn't complain." Oliver said hastily. Fred and George stared at him with matching disgusted expressions.

"Well?" George asked as his brother swatted Oliver in the chest contemptuously. I glanced around at Val who was nodding vigorously.

"I…we'll be okay." I said, trying to ignore the muffled swearing and groaning from Val. Oliver gave me a sort of desperate look then leaned down and kissed my forehead. "Hey! What the…oh. Night to you to, Wood."

" 'Night." And then they were off, dashing from shadow to shadow like wraiths. Well, noisy wraiths…

"OW! Damn it, Oliver! That was my foot!"

"Yeah, I know. It was in my way." The three silhouettes skirted the moonlit floor, the shorter pair stopping to wave at us as they turned off up a stairwell. Valerie giggled and gave me a smug look.

"What?" I whispered over her giggling. "_What, _Val?!"

"Oliver really likes you, you know."

"Huh, right. If it's not a broom, he's not interested in riding it." I took a deep breath and plunged into the darkened corridors and up the steps that lead to the fifth floor. Val tripped along behind me, shadowing my every step. I was turning the corner when it happened.

Val let out a shrill shriek as I ran right into a figure dodging out of Professor Moody's office. I yelped and fell back, yanking my wand out of my pocket. A stranger looked down at us, his gaunt face illuminated in the moonlight that filtered in eerie shapes through the stained glass windows. His tongue darted out of his mouth like a snakes and before I could think, he'd jerked his fist forward and punched me in the nose.

"OW!!"

"HAHA!" Valerie burst out laughing before she realized I was actually hurt. "Hey, Fin? Who was that? Come on, we've got to go before we're caught! Did he hit you? We've got to-"

"No, I'm fine! Come on!" I tugged her down the hallway, the home stretch, in fact. I could hear footsteps rushing up the stairs coming on our right…we'd never make it!

"STOP RIGHT THERE!!" We skidded to a halt, face to face with Professor Moody. I would have rather tackled Filch any day then meet the extremely creepy Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. The worst Filch could do was give us detention. Moody was a wildcard, he could do anything from let us off on a warning to turn us both into stoats. I liked life as a human. Valerie shrieked and turned to run in the other direction, jerking on my collar and choking me.

"AAH!"

"Stop, wait! OW!"

"_Petrificus!" _

"I'm so sorry, Professor. We got lost and-" Val blurted, her mouth the only movable part of her body.

"Shush! No excuses! I heard someone running around up here-why is your nose bleeding, O'Brien?"

"I- There was this man! He was in your office! He hit me and ran."

"In my office!?"

"Yes, sir." Please don't turn me into a stoat, please. Anything but that. Moody seemed to debate for a moment and then looked up.

"Run off back to your Common Room and don't let me find you out of your bed again, the both of you. I'll look into this 'man'. Probably just Peeves having a lark."

"But sir-"

"Bed with you!"

We didn't need to be told twice. We ran for it. It wasn't until we were safely in our dormitories did we contemplate the strangeness of the event.

"We're alive! Oh, that was so close! Holy crowe!" Val blathered excitedly, poking the underside of my bunk with her foot.

"Shut up." Jedda groaned, rolling over. I glared and kicked her bed, ignoring her continued swearing.

"I know, I thought we were dead." I laughed a little too loudly, exhilarated.

"What part of the words 'shut' and 'up' don't you two morning people understand?" Jedda snapped angrily, rolling over in bed and clamping her pillow over her face.

" But it doesn't make any sense…Moody would have seen that guy." I said, leaning over the edge of the bunk to look at Val.

"Eh, whatever. He's gone now, at least. Hey, how's your nose?"

"Fine, it just needed an episkey charm. He didn't really hit me that hard. Who was he? Do you think Moody really cares?"

"Of course he cares! DADA professor, isn't he? Whoever they were, they're gone now." Jedda wrenched the pillow off her face to snap at me.

"Yeah, but doesn't it bother you? And what was professor Moody doing out of his office?" I replied, trying to involve her in the conversation.

"Monitoring the halls. Come on, Fin, just go to sleep. Besides, it was probably just Peeves fooling around." Jedda's voice was weary with resignation, realizing that if she didn't join in the debate, we were just going to keep her up all night.

"I did not get punched in the nose by an apparition!" I growled, glaring at her.

"Go to sleep, go to sleep my roomate-" She started to sing, fingers in her ears. I threw a pillow at her and groaned.

"Fine." I rolled over in bed and put out my wand.

"Nana, NaNa, NaNaNa-" The first strains of the lullaby drifted up to me and I leaned over the edge of the bunk.

"Valerie?"

"Sorry."


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Note:** Too tired, cant think. Night, night all. Maybe tomorrow I'll leave a better note. Please review, sorry I dont have candy because I'm poor and sleepy. Was going to say something else, cant remember what it was. Love you...

"Come on, we have to get up! Hogsmeade visit today!" I yanked the curtains open and bright sunlight flooded in.

"Five more minutes…" Jedda groaned, rolling over to hide her face. I laughed and pulled away her comforter.

"Come on! Come on!"

"Why are you so _happy_? What kind of crack are you on?!" She spat viciously, brushing her raven dark hair out of her eyes. She clambered out of bed and smoothed out her black t-shirt emblazoned with the words 'Come to the Dark side, we have cookies' and her flannel pjama pants with little skull and crossbones printed on them.

"Bet she had another Cedric dream." Val muttered, padding over to the mirror and smacking hard into my shoulder on the way.

"I did not!" I giggled, snatching a brush from my trunk and releasing my hair from its ponytail.

"Oh please, Fin. Don't be happy, I refuse to go through the rehabilitation phase all over again." Jedda replied and my mood instantly went from moderately joyful to utterly depressed. What was I thinking, anyway?

"Look," Val came to my rescue, turning on Jedda. "Cheer up, emo kid! Besides, stop raining on her parade. If Fin's happy, we should be happy."

"Oh, it's okay. No rehabilitation needed this time, I promise!" I put up my hands to ward off Jedda's skeptical expression. Rummaging through my trunk, I pulled out a pair of my favorite jeans and threw them on without really looking at them. It was only when Valerie and Jedda burst into peals of laughter that I realized something was amiss.

"What?" I asked, trying to get a look at my bum and see what fashion faux-pas I'd committed now.

"They're your signed jeans, Fin! Remember?" Val sniggered, beaming at me. "The ones with Fred and George's signature on the bum?"

"Oh, bugger." I muttered, twirling around to get a good look at them. I'd let everybody sign a pair of my jeans last year just for fun. Unfortunately, I hadn't really monitored who was signing them to closely and Val, left to her own devices, had encouraged everybody to sign them. Which left me with two magically inked handprints across the bum pockets with the words ' Property of F&G Weasley', a very rude phrase from Zacharias Smith, a big splatter of bright orange permanent ink on my knee cap(Peeves), Oliver and his favorite Quidditch quote and a roughly sketched quaffle, plus countless other scribbled signatures. My favorite of these was a paragraph from Cedric that ran across the back of my right calf. It didn't really say much, but I cherished it. "Maybe I should try a different pair…"

"Nah, wear those! They've got…character." Jedda cackled as I donned a black and red tank top I'd gotten during the Quidditch World Cup. BULGARIA! Was printed in large, curving letters across my chest. I shrugged into a black, zip up hoodie on top of that to keep me reasonably warm.

"Okay, lets go down to breakfast quickly so we can get a head start. I want to nip down to Honeydukes for some sweets, maybe buy a couple Christmas gifts while I'm at it." I sighed, slipping my feet into a pair of black trainers and dashing down the stairs and into the common room. A few people lounged about groggily, still recovering. Roger was one of them, sprawled out on the couch with what appeared to be his transfiguration book clutched to his chest. His school things lay strewn about in haphazard piles, indicating he'd fallen asleep studying.

"Hey, sleepy beauty, time to wake." I leaned over and prodded him in the stomach.

"OW! Get the quaffle! Lynch owes me money---Oh." Roger blinked blearily as the entire room full of groggies started to laugh. I giggled and poked him in the stomach again, ignoring his glare as it transformed into a cheeky smile. Roger lay back and feigned sleep once more, then began to writhe on the couch disturbingly.

"Oh Merlin, here we go again." Olympia rolled her eyes, fingers wrapped around a steaming mug.

"Oh, Findabhair! Oh, ah, oh! FIN!" He gasped and arched his back. The common room fell about in hysterics

"Davies, you are disgusting." I rolled my eyes and turned to walk away. He hooked a finger in my belt loop and pulled me back down onto the couch with him.

"No, what you're doing in my mind is disgustingly wonderful."

"DAVIES!" I yelped in outrage and stood up, shaking my head.

"Putting on your orgasm face for today, Roger?" Anastasia asked, winking at him.

"All for you, my pumpkin!" I turned away and followed Val and Jedda, shaking my head in disgust. With some people, it really is all about the sex.

"Well, I don't see the hags today. I wonder where they are?" Jedda mused, grabbing a tea cup off the tray that sat in a dozing Summerby's lap.

"Up to something?" Val asked around a mouthful of short-bread.

"I hope not." I groaned, it would be more than I could take if they were. Jedda fished her wand out of her pocket and a jet of pure black, thick, aromatic coffee spurted from the tip and filled the cup. She downed it like a shot as we walked down the spiral staircase. "Ah, that's better."

"That looks like it tastes disgusting." I wrinkled my nose as she sloshed some more into the cup. She winced and swallowed again, gasping.

"It does."

"Than why do you drink it?"

"Because emo's are masochists." Val responded before Jedda could get a word in edgewise. She scowled at Val but continued to drink. A few minutes later I was deep in conversation with Val about Alternative vs. Classical rock when Jedda choked loudly and spewed coffee all over the Slytherin's walking in front of us. They shrieked and cast us murderous looks.

"Bloody hell, Jedda! What is it?" I asked, laughing nervously as I thumped her on the back.

"It's nothing!" She snapped loudly in a shrill voice and snagged my wrist, chattering at full speed. "So, how was Oliver last night? I hear you're going to the ball with him? That's great! Now, didn't you want to tell me about that thing?"

"What thing? What are you on about? I-" I tried to look around to see what was bothering her.

"NO!" Jedda grabbed my chin and forced me to look at her. "Did you get that essay done for Snape? I haven't done it yet, what a pity. Hey, I know! We can do it together, won't that be--"

Laughter interrupted her rant, laughter that was so high and so foul it sent a chill down my spine. I turned and my blood ran cold. There was Cho, in all her startling glamour and popularity. And holding her hand, looking every bit the Hogwarts champion, was Cedric. What on earth was he doing? Holding her hand like that and nuzzling her head like a demented puppy? What were they…oh. My stomach did something very odd, as though it were trying to climb my ribcage and escape through my mouth.

"Shit." Jedda breathed.

My heart stopped. No, wait, that wasn't the right word for it. Not stop, shatter into a million tiny pieces at the sight. _Cho Chang_! No wonder he wouldn't tell me, it was Cho. It hurt, literally _hurt_, to know that where I had not been worthy; Cho Chang was. The most horrible, slimy, conniving little ferret the world had ever seen was with Cedric Diggory. My sweet, honest, sometimes idiotic but always repentant…Cedric. It felt like a great hole had opened up to swallow me.

"Fin? What's wrong?" Val was instantly worried, the wonders of the muggle bands lost in her concern. "Fin! Look at me! Fin!! What's…aw, no."

I seemed to lose balance all of a sudden fell against the wall, gasping for a breath I hadn't been aware of holding. And he looked up. Over the top of Cho's head, our eyes met. For that fraction of a second before I lost my courage and ran in the other direction, I stared back and tried to decipher his expression. Maybe it was apologetic, maybe pleading. I didn't care, all I knew was the horrible feeling of my insides turned to lead.

Then I bolted, panicking and dashing in the other direction. I could hear the shouts behind me as he followed and I shoved a pack of First years down, desperate in my frenzied attempt to run away. I pelted down a deserted corridor, hoping to find a turn-off where I could escape from this horrible nightmare.

"WAIT! Findabhair!" I gasped frantically and grabbed the door handle to an empty classroom and tried to force my way through the locked door, slamming my shoulder against it uselessly. I battered myself to death against that door. I wanted to escape with an almost animalistic desperation from this horrible nightmare that was all too real. Cedric slowed his running footsteps to a jog then stopped twenty feet from me, watching as I clawed at the handle before turning to stare at him. I backed against the closed door and took a deep breath.

"How could you?" I forced anger into my tone, tasting a bitter flavor on my tongue. He panted but didn't speak. "She is the biggest, most hateful-"

"Don't insult her!" He snapped, glaring at me. I couldn't have been more hurt if he'd come up and slapped me in the face. The rejection I felt, the unworthiness…it transformed into the coldest and most bitter feeling I'd ever experienced.

"Have you no soul? You know she's horrible-" Vicious, unquenchable and irrational jealousy swept through me like tsunami. I'd _kill_ her! Grab her squinty eyes and tear them from their sockets, I'd rip her flesh from her bones--

"She would pick on everyone, I know. But she's changed. This is why I wouldn't tell you earlier," He glared at me and made a random gesture. "Because you turn into _this!_"

"People like Cho Chang never change, Cedric! She's no different then she was before! She still does make a mickey of me!" I snarled, storming over to him until I was in his face. I could slap him, I was so angry. At the same time, I was incredibly hurt. Was I that hideous that she was so much more attractive to him?

"You do the same to her-"

"In self-defense! And you know what? The only reason she likes you is because you're a Champion! You have to know that!" I spat viciously, every inch of me shaking. "She stares at Harry Potter all the time, because he's famous!"

"How could you say that?" He stared down at me in disbelief and disgust. How could he look at me like that? I bit my lip to keep from screaming at him and jabbed my finger into his chest.

"Fine, you want to believe a girl you barely know over me? Why would I lie about this, Cedric? WHY?!" I slapped my hands against his broad shoulders uselessly, trying to push him away.

"She doesn't just like me because I'm a champion!" His defensive expression made me even angrier.

"She's _using_ you!" I groaned, throwing my hands up in frustration.

"Don't say that about her!" He bellowed, furious. I took a huge breath and stared at the stone under my feet and fought back the tears. How could he believe her over me? HOW COULD HE!? "Oliver only likes you because you're my sister."

"That's rubbish! Besides, we're just friends!"

"Exactly! But I don't trust him, he's a older than you and he _obviously_…" Cedric trailed off as he searched for the words to express Oliver's feelings.

"Well?" I snapped, whipping my head around to glare at him.

"He obviously only likes you physically! He doesn't _just _want to be your friend!"

"Physically?! Is that what you think? From a boy who could be doing god knows what with Cho Chang, Evil Incarnate-" My outrage couldn't have been more profound. How dare he!

"That's wrong. You're wrong." I knew what he was saying was true, I was lying through my teeth. I also knew he never would have done that. It just wasn't Cedric. He was a sweet boy, not like some of the other ones around here. But the idea of coming off that way wounded him, you could tell by the expression on his face. The pain…I couldn't bear to see it, knowing I was the cause. The sobs tried to claw their way out of my throat and I feigned a cough. "You know what you are? You're ignorant! Bloody ignorant! You think you know everything and it's downright annoying! You think you can come down and lord over me because you're so omnipotent-"

"Omniscient, Cedric. The word is 'omniscient'." I corrected automatically.

"See?! That's my bloody point! You're a swot! Now look here: I'll date whoever I want and you can bloody well stomp you're huge feet and throw a tantrum and I _don't care_!" He dealt the death blow with a ferocious expression on his normally smiling face and I winced. That was the problem right there: He didn't care. How true those two words were…suddenly, I didn't care either. Fine, that was a complete lie. Of course I cared, but I could still _act_ like I didn't.

"I hope she gives you dragon pox, you selfish tosser." Glaring at him, I turned my head away.

"Why don't you just go snog Oliver Wood, you great basilisk!" He raged angrily, fists clenched at his sides.

"Maybe I will." I shot back, taking pleasure from watching him cringe.

"I know what this is about, you're just jealous because I have a-"

"Get away from me, Cedric." I spoke very quietly, careful to keep my voice even and steady. I could hear his breathing slow gradually as he processed what I had said and how I had meant it.

"Fin?" He asked tentatively and I heard him take a step towards me.

"Leave me alone, Diggory." I hissed over my shoulder, not even deigning to look back at him. If he thought I was a basilisk, then I would bloody well act like one. For a brief breadth of a second before I dismissed it, I imagined what it would be like to turn the full force of my murderous yellow snake gaze on Chang. The thought made me cringe and exult in equal measure. A strange shiver of feeling in my arm made the bangles jingle where they hid my tattoo. I heard him sigh and start to walk away. The footsteps stopped and he gave a short humorless laugh.

"You know," He called back to me. "I thought you would have been at least happy for me, I told her you would understand. But you proved me wrong. Be seeing you around, O'Brien." Then he walked out, leaving me alone in the hallway. It took a moment for me to lose control of my emotions in one, gigantic, explosive sob.

I fell to my knees, ignoring the pain as they cracked against cold, hard stone. I sucked in shaky breaths between sobs. I lay my forehead against the cool granite and gasped for breath. Suddenly, someone put their arm around my shoulder, pulling me against their chest.

"Cedric, get away from me!" I wept and tried to push away.

"Actually, it's me." Oliver spoke softly, pulling me up so I could stain his shirt with salt-water. He stroked my hair and I cried worse than ever before. "What happened?"

"We were having a row…" I cried, sniffling and wiping my eyes.

"Yeah, I heard the last bit." He chuckled weakly and I let out a quiet moan. Oliver pulled back to gaze at me with a soft look.

"Don't cry, Findabhair." He wiped tears away from my cheeks and smiled down at me.

"Not crying." I lied quickly, hugging Oliver tightly. "Thanks, you're a good friend, Olive."

I heard him inhale sharply and his arms tightened around my shoulders for a moment. I sniffled, inhaling the smell what I was pretty sure was Old Spice. Ugh, too strong. I leaned back and coughed, standing up shakily.

"Hey…Oliver?" I asked very weakly, trying to assuage the feeling of rejection that seemed to curdle my blood. He stood back from me and turned, expression lighting up.

"Yeah?" He asked casually.

"Want to go down to Hogsmeade today?" I blurted, heart pounding. "With me? Well, um, with Valerie and Jedda and I? Is that…okay? You wouldn't…I don't know, um…mind?"

"I'd love to." He grinned and swept into a bow.

"Ow!" I gasped, clutching at my aching chest. He looked up at me in surprise. "No! I'm okay! That's great! I'm glad! So…meet you after breakfast? Fred and George can come to, if they want. See you."

With that terribly eloquent parting phrase, I ran to the great hall. I was almost there when I heard the chuntering voices of Elise and Sondra discussing Cho's latest conquest:

"So…I heard he fought with O'Brien over it.""Oooh, what did they say?"

"Don't know, but he got back and gave Cho a really good snog. Just to spite her, can you believe it?"

"How romantic!"

I rushed away, not wanting to hear anymore. My hands balled into fists at my side as my fury rose. I turned around and kicked the closest thing I could find: A suit of armor.

"AH! BUGGER! AH! AH! OOOOOOHHH!" I was sure I'd broken at least three toes. Punching the breast plate as hard as I could, I was rewarded with a loud, hollow clank and an 'oomph'. I stood back and took a huge breath.

"Sorry." I muttered and walked down to breakfast.

~*~

"But…it's the Three Broomsticks! They have Butterbeer, Fin! Come on, I'm cold!" Jedda whinged pitifully, wrapped in her black cloak. I stormed through the calf-deep snow, the entire gang following me.

"I will not stay in the same bar as that despicable excuse for a human being!" I snapped, teeth chattering against the cold. I was wrapped in my black coat, but it wasn't enough.

"Do you want my cloak?" Oliver asked me, his expression worried.

"I-I-I'm fine! I l-l-like the cold!" In retrospect, a tang top hadn't been the appropriate attire for a snowy day. "Lets go back to Honeydukes."

"I want to sit down." Val complained pointedly. "Besides, we just left Honeydukes. Let's just go in."

"FINE!" I grumbled, digging into my purse and snatching out a package of blood lollipops we'd just purchased. I ripped off the wrapper and shoved it in my mouth. Oliver stopped mid-snicker when he saw my murderous expression. I wrenched open the door to the Three Broomsticks and stormed inside, listening to my friends hushed conversation behind me and trying to ignore the group of popular gits in the corner. They were crowded around Cedric and Cho, who chattered happily in between kisses.

"Don't laugh, mate. That's one of those vampire lollipops she's got, the ones that taste like blood-" Fred muttered hurriedly to Oliver. I sat down heavily in one of the booths and wrenched the lollipop out of my mouth.

"They taste delicious, thank you very much! I love the flavor!" It did taste like blood and I frankly didn't care. I actually did _like_ them. What can I say? Cedric had his portkeys and I had my blood pops. Not that I even cared that Cedric existed. Some of the popular boys caught sight of us and ohed loudly.

"Shut up." I heard Ced tell them from the corner. They asked him all sorts of questions that I didn't want to hear and Val began to shout very loudly about a muggle band called the Clash to drown them out. Madam Rosemerta came over and asked for our order.

"Six Butterbeer's, thanks." Oliver interrupted Valerie's rant about Fender Stratocasters, his expression tense. Someone tapped on my shoulder as Madam Rosemerta left and I turned. Oh great, Elise.

"Hi, Findabhair. Um, do you think you could tell your friends to quiet down? We're trying to have a conversation over there and I cant hear what Cho's saying-" Her voice oozed false politeness.

"Elise?" I asked, pulling the lollipop out of my mouth and turning to her.

"Yeah?" She replied, peppy. Oliver reached over and took my hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Shut up and sod off before I hex you into next week." I told her calmly and turned away. Jedda whistled loudly and Valerie sniggered.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you not to talk to my friends like that." The voice was so uniform and so forced, I barely recognized it.

"So I suppose they're your friends now, Cedric? What does that make us, chopped liver?" Jedda's voice was cold and she glared at him from where he stood behind me. I turned around and saw the anxious expression on his face, the way he stared at some distant point in space. Suddenly, he gave up and bent down as though he were giving us a real talking to.

"Fin, I didn't mean what I said in the hall-" He rushed, his eyes searching my face desperately.

"Stop." I held up a hand and he shut up. It took me a moment to collect myself so I wouldn't stand up and scream at him. "You wanted me to understand why you're dating her. You want me to accept it. Consider me informed, I get it. I understand _everything._"

"No, Fin, you've got it wrong-"

"I wasn't finished, Diggory. We wont keep you too long, since you obviously cant be seen with the likes of us, from the way Cho's looking over here. Oh, and by the way-" I lowered my voice so only he could hear me. "Thanks for assuming I was so pathetic that I could never get a date to the Yule ball by myself." I cut him off and made my voice louder, grabbing my bottle of butterbeer and lifting it into the air to make a toast. "Here's to a Hogwart's Champion!"

"Here." A bunch of people around the bar also lifted their goblets and bottles in salute. Cedric looked like he was going to be sick.

"Yes, here's to the greatest wanker who ever lived." I said quietly to him and took a huge swig of butterbeer, watching him wince. The anger was building in the pit of my stomach and I knew I had to leave before I did something really stupid. "Oh, and _here's _so you can keep up your charade." I drew back my right hand and slapped him in the face as hard as I could.

He staggered backwards, clutching his cheek as the entire bar gasped. I shoved by him, dropped two knuts and a sickle down on the counter in front of Madam Rosmerta and left amid the silence and stares of the entire building.

The cold felt good on my stinging palm, on my over-heated body. I couldn't remember a time when I'd ever felt so angry. It was as though my entire mind had been consumed by rage. My mark ached like it always did when I was angry or annoyed, but this time, it was as sore as though I'd been lifting weights. I spent the rest of the day alone, avoiding anywhere where I might run into someone I knew.

I searched some of the shops, bought a few Christmas gifts and headed back up to the common room to wrap them. By that time I'd calmed down enough to chat with Roger.

"She's beautiful, Fin. I don't know how I did it, I mean, I can't believe I-" He was euphoric about taking Fleur to the ball.

"Yeah, fabulous. I'm happy for you." I tried to sound like I meant it. I did, of course. But it reminded me of how Cedric was taking Cho to the ball, and that thought made me sick.

"Fin? You've been off all day…are you feeling alright?" Roger leaned over and took my hand as I reached for the roll of wrapping paper.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." I tried to reassure him and took my hand back.

"It's about Chang and Diggory isn't it?" He asked, sitting back and putting his hands behind his head, legs spread in his casual sitting position.

"You know about that?" I murmured softly, glancing up at him.

"I've _known _about that, Findabhair. I have to be very aware of my competition, you know. Hogwarts most eligible bachelor doesn't get snapped up without me knowing far ahead of time." He rolled his eyes and sighed. "I was trying to let you down nicely this morning so you'd be in a better mood when you found out…" Flirting was supposed to put me in a better mood? He was so shallow…

"I don't want to discuss it, Roger." I grumbled, tying the ribbon around a parcel with a wave of my wand.

"It wont last, Fin. You really shouldn't worry about it." He slid an arm around my waist and gave me a quick squeeze.

"Yeah, whatever." Of course Roger said it wouldn't last. Roger went through girlfriends like Hogwarts went through Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. His relationships never lasted longer than a month(and that one had been record-breaking). Cedric valued a longer partnership, I was sure. And Cho, she would milk it for all it was worth for as long as she could.

"Come on, don't give me that look. Besides, you have Oliver, don't you?"

"Just as a date to the ball."

"Right." He snorted loudly, muttering something quietly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." He gazed at me innocently as I thumped down a parcel and glared at him.

"Davies, tell me what you know."

"Nuyah. Not when you look at me like that."

"Please, Roger?" I tried pleading.

"Well, I think we could come to some sort of arrangement, love-" His fingers traced my spine delicately.

"ROGER." I said in a low, threatening voice.

"Oh please, Fin! Like you haven't noticed that Oliver Wood thinks you're the sexiest thing since the Holly-Head Harpies recruited Gwenog Jones! It's as obvious as you are with Diggory." Roger groaned and withdrew his unwanted arm, pouting furiously.

"I'm _obvious_?!" I snarled, hackles rising.

"No! I didn't mean that! I meant: Oliver is really into you, Fo-Findabahair." He caught himself before he said fox. Tears were starting to sting my eyes. Obvious? Really?

"You're only obvious to me, Findabhair. Because we've known each other since first year and I have to scream at you every time we verse Hufflepuff to get your head in the game and stop diving in the way of bludgers." He reasoned, smiling at me reassuringly.

"I don't dive in the way of bludgers." I muttered resentfully, mollified but still furious at the entire situation.

"No, right. Your just the one chaser in existence who tries to catch them." He scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"We won the match, didn't we?" I grumbled, whipping my wand out to seal the wrapping. I continued on in silence for a moment before throwing my hands up in exasperation. "OH! What is so much prettier about her to him? Roger-"

"No. Ask me that question and I leave. You'll beat me if I do and you'll beat me if I don't. Besides, Findabhair, you already know the answer: Ravenclaw's have looks and brains. You're gorgeous and so is she. That's like asking whose better, chocolate frogs or chocolate cauldrons? They're both so mouthwateringly delicious that they only thing that matters is taste. So, Cedric has a thing for tiny, slanty eyes and coffee colored skin. I've got a thing for long, gorgeous legs and silky, flowing blonde hair." He slid closer and waggled his eyebrows at me. I struggled to keep the smile off my face but it won out anyway. "There! You see?"

"Oh, yes, I see. I'm just a meaningless string of suggestive adjectives to you, aren't I?"

"That and magnificent legs, champagne glass knockers and a figure to kill." He slung an arm around my waist and pulled me onto his lap before I could get away.

"Roger! Get off!" I wriggled away as his lips grazed my cheek.

"-a whole lot of hard-to-get, even though I know that deep down you lust for me, Findabhair-" He murmured seductively, still clinging to my wrist. Fine then, two could play at this game. I tugged him off the couch and pulled him close, reading the surprise in his expression.

This was never something I did, but today, after being rejected for an Asian troll; I needed to play. Roger was attractive and always asking for it, so why not? If men could tease women with false hope, then I could do the same with them. My wrist twinged as stood on tip-toe, smiling into Roger's bemused expression. I placed my hands on his shoulders and brushed my cheek by his to whisper in his ear:

"You know why you're a chaser, Roger?" Murmuring softly, lips against his earlobe.

"Why?" He turned his head and I dodged neatly, smiling wickedly at his suddenly glazed-over look.

"Because, your always chasing…" I darted away from his waist grab and smacked him on the chest.

"What you cant have!" I cackled and twisted away, only to turn and meet Anastasia's disapproving expression.

"Aw, Fin! That was mean! Come here, Roger, have a hug-" She wrapped her lithe form around him in a sweet, sisterly hug. His return of the embrace was much more than brotherly.

"Whoa! Below the equator!! Ooo-kay, your hugging privileges have been suspended until further notice." She pushed away, rolling her eyes. Davies bit his lip and looked pathetically thwarted.

"Aw, not again!"


	8. Chapter 8

"It's CHRISTMAS!! CHRISTMAS!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!" Val bellowed in my ear and I sat bolt upright in bed, nearly smacking my head.

"GAH!" I shouted in terror. I'd just been about to win a Quidditch match against Hufflepuff when her shouting startled me out of my pleasant dreams.

"What…huh….where!? Whatimeisit?" Jedda groaned, hauling herself out of bed.

"Five more minutes, Draco my love…" Anastasia sighed, snuggling into her covers. Danica was giggling on the floor, her face hidden by a torn piece of sparkling red wrapping paper. Olympia was surrounded by wrappings and grinning maniacally. My chest heaved and my heart pounded along at a jack-rabbits pace.

"It's Christmas." Valerie giggled brightly and her arms appeared at the foot of my bed, holding up a clumsily wrapped parcel. "Open mine first!"

"Okay." I sighed, reaching out to take the present. I unwrapped it carefully and found it full to the brim with Blood Pops and chocolate Frogs. Yes! I crawled to the edge of my bed and leapt down, sitting on Val's and sorting through my presents as I tossed her a gift from me: An old muggle band t-shirt.

"What did Cedric get you?" Jedda asked, far too casually. Val snickered and set to unwrapping another gift, causing a flurry of paper to shower down on all of us.

"I don't know, I cant find his present." I muttered darkly, not really expecting to find anything from him. After the entire fiasco the other day, I wouldn't have been surprised. "Hey, what's this?"

"It's from Fred and George." Val peered over my shoulder and snatched it from my grasp. It was two boxes wrapped in blue paper and bore the letter F&G over both. We all stared at it for a moment before looking at one another.

"Should we open them this year?" I asked dubiously, worried about what might leap out at us this time.

"Yeah!" Val cried.

"NO!" Jedda shouted loudly, diving behind her bed.

I stuck a finger under the wrapping and tore open the first box…and burst out laughing. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I pulled out some sapphire blue lingerie, all with the Ravenclaw crest printed across them. Val and Jedda howled with uncontrollable laughter, unable to breathe they were sniggering so hard. Val finally managed to pull out the card that came with them and read it aloud:

" 'It's what you've always wanted, house knickers. George thinks they've got marketing potential, care to model them for us? By the way, check the other box. We got you a little something for Chang. P.S. Slip just two drops into her morning pumpkin juice and then watch the fun that ensues. F&G.'" She started to reach for the other box and pulled a small, blue vial out of it, grinning her head off.

"Hey Fin, I think you should wear those down to breakfast this morning." Jedda laughed, plucking a blue bra from the box and dangling it in front of my nose. I snorted and batted it away, going through the rest of my gifts: Fiona and Amos had sent me a couple of books on Quidditch and an elegant silver necklace with a dragon pendant attached(it flared it's little wings and curled against my skin, snorting a little jet of blue fire. With a pang I recognized it was a Swedish short snout.), Luna Lovegood a years free subscription to the Quibbler and a pair of radish earrings(to discourage Nargles), Roger Davies a large chunk of Honeydukes chocolate shaped like a Quaffle and a peppermint wand with a dirty Christmas card, Jedda a collection of muggle make-up and a strange oddity she called and MP3 player, and finally Ernie's gift: A Weird Sister's t-shirt and a Falmouth Falcon's pin which flashed their motto intermittently('Let us win, but if we cannot win, let us at least break some heads!').

After donning a pair of jeans and my recently acquired weird sister's tee, we all trooped down to the Great Hall for a Christmas Breakfast. Which, just my luck, turned out to be an event to remember.

"Oh, bugger." Jedda grabbed me by the elbow and looked pointedly at the Christmas decorations and cooed in a most un-Jeddalike fashion.

"Oh! Look at all those shiny Christmas baubles! Oh, they're just so colourful and distracting-" She wasn't as quick on the draw as she could have been though. Because there, with boys practically orbiting around her, was Fleur Delacour. Chatting up Cedric with her veela glamour high as a kite. Oh no, you don't.

At almost the same time, Ron Weasley and I both let out kind of strangled noises. It was awkward enough to make everyone in the hallway turn around and stare at us. Mine was something that Valerie later described as a cat-like scream of frustration whereas Ron's was more of a shrieky invitation to the Yule Ball. Needless to say, it stopped their conversation cold. Fleur was giving Ron a disgusted look and Cedric stepped towards me only to trip over Valerie as she attempted to throw herself in front of me to stop me leaping towards Fleur with the sole purpose of clawing her dreamy blue eyes out of their sockets.

"Findabhair, wait!" Cedric gasped, looking heartbroken. Good, a little taste of his own poison.

"No." I gave him the same cool, disgusted look Fleur was giving Ron and fled into the Hall. Ugh.

"I hate her, I hate her, I hate her, I HATE her! I hate her and her bloody long legs and tiny waist and baby-doll blue eyes-" I snarled, fingernails digging into the soft wood of the table. "Why are there so many attractive girls at this school!?"

"Findabhair, you have long legs and a tiny waist-"

"Be still." I hissed at Roger, my teeth clenched.

"I don't see why your complaining, I've always said you're the Fox of Ravenclaw."

"SHUT UP, DAVIES!" There was a clatter as I upset the silverware in an attempt to leap across the table and get at him. He squealed in terror and quailed under my impressive glare. "I'll kill you!"

"Fin! Calm down, think of Ooze-Frabah."

"What?" I panted, too angry to make sense of Val's muggle rubbish. "Oh, I hate them!"

"Fleur or Cho?" Jedda asked meekly, none to eager to get in the way of my vengeful fury.

"Both." It wasn't even a word, it was a growl.

"Your doing the Pureblood wrath thing again." Val sighed, looking over her shoulder. "Here we go…put on your happy face, Findabhair."

"Here we go what?!"

"Oh, this'll be cute…" Davies muttered, glaring at a distant spot over my shoulder.

"Roger, go irritate someone else!" Jedda snapped irritably, rubbing my back with enough force to start a friction burn.

"Fine! Have fun with your Gryffin-stalker." Roger snapped spitefully and left.

"What?!" I snarled as Oliver plopped down next to me, a grin a mile wide on his face. He hugged me around the neck and I resisted the most acute and irrational urge to throttle the hell out of him. Jedda was mouthing the words 'find your happy place' at me with an almost pathological focus.

"Ow! Oliver, your choking me!" I grumbled, ire slowly cooling. I took a deep breath as he released me and turned to smile at him. It twitched a little at the corners but with Herculean effort I managed tocalm down. "So, did you like your gift?" I'd gotten him a book called _Play's of the Appleby Arrows_.

"I love you! I mean it!" He corrected himself hurriedly as two loud plunks beside me on the bench announced the arrival of Fred and George. "Here-" He dug his fingers into his pocket and pulled out a little scarlet wrapped box. I blinked in surprise, what could he want to give me that was that small? I took it carefully from his grasp and he grinned at me. "Go on! Open it!"

I slowly undid the scarlet wrapping paper and found a little chest, kind of like the ones used to keep Quidditch balls in. I popped open the latch, looked inside and gasped, running my fingers over the tiny jewelry. There was a pair of Quaffle earrings, two Bludger earrings which strained at their bindings, two beaters bats and a delicate gold chain with a tiny snitch attached, beating it's miniscule wings desperately against my finger tips. It was such a personal gift that at the same time as being awed by Oliver's generosity, it made me uncomfortable. That was…incredibly and awkwardly romantic, Oliver. Val's eyes were the size of saucers and Jedda was trying to hide her snickering in her goblet of pumpkin juice, which produced loud snorkeling sounds.

"Oliver…it's…it's…wow…they're beautiful." I mumbled looking up into his beaming face.

"Here-Oh, do you mind?" He asked uncertainly, preparing to fasten the snitch around my neck. The proper and more eloquent phrase would have been 'May I?' but it was just Olive, not Cedric.

"Sure." I said and swept my hair out of the way. His fingers brushed along my throat as he fastened the snitch just above the dragon, where the gold clashed horribly with the silver. As if in protest, the dragon tried to claw it's way up to the where the snitch zipped around, it's tiny silver fangs bared menacingly.

"Who gave you that?" Oliver asked, casting the dragon a disdainful look.

"Fiona and Amos." I said offhandedly, taking a bite of chocolate chip pancake.

"Oh, alright, then." He murmured, mollified for the time being.

"See you later." Val interjected, giving Olive a dismissive look.

"Bye then, I guess." He walked off and Jedda and Val pounced on me.

"We're going to have to figure out a way to discourage that kid before he gets himself all tangled in the mess that's your dysfunctional love life." Jedda stated as quietly as she was able, wiping pumpkin juice from around her mouth with a napkin. I watched him return to his seat at the Gryffindor table and sighed wistfully. Maybe, if I squinted hard and cocked my head to the side, he was sort of fit looking…

"I think you should go for him, Fin. I know he's a goofy Gryffindor, but he's cute." Val said, opening and shutting the little box repeatedly so that the clicking became almost unbearable to listen to.

" Uh oh. 'By the itching of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes…' " Jedda muttered.

" 'Quoth the raven: nevermore!'." Valerie chuckled, winking at me.

"Hey, Findabhair."

"Hey, Freckles." I muttered, turning to face Marietta with a smile that was sweeter than a fizzing whisbee. "How's your boyfriend, he give you a ring?" She sneered, copper curls bouncing around her pug face.

"No, but I'll give you a sucker punch for Christmas if you don't get your scrawny little arse out of my face." Jedda growled threateningly, her grip tightening on her black coffee grounds.

"I wasn't talking to you." She spat angrily, but all the same, turned away and flounced off. Val, who'd remained very quiet throughout the entire affair, slapped her hand down on the table and glared after her.

"That is it." She snarled, yanking the tiny blue vial Fred and George had given me out of her jacket pocket."Well, there goes Val. I knew she'd snap and see things my way eventually. Care to join us?" Jedda asked, setting down her goblet to go help Valerie poison the hag.

"Nah, I'll catch up with you guys later. I don't feel too well." I lied and stood up, leaving my half a stack of pancakes uneaten on my plate. Better to leave now while the annoying people still had all their limbs.

"Alrighty then, if you're sure." Jedda shrugged and skipped off down the table. I took my little box off the table and headed out, yawning. I'd just go back up to the common room and read a few books, try and stay as far away from Cedric as possible."Findabhair?" Too late. I sighed and turned around as Ced striding down the hall towards me. He'd somehow managed to lose his popular friends in the tumult so we were alone. "Do you want to come down to Hufflepuff for the morning?"

"No." I said stiffly, toying with the snitch at my throat. Oh, but I did. I wanted badly to go down to Hufflepuff common room and spend the morning with Cedric, if I wasn't so damn prideful, I would.

"I have your present down there." He coaxed, grinning at me weakly. I turned away from him and tried to march off to Ravenclaw tower. His hand caught my shoulder. "Please, Fin? Please."

"Cedric…" I groaned, envisioning all the studying I could get through and the heartbreak I could avoid if I just went up…to…the common room and…wasn't so…weak willed.

"Alright, but I have to go get your present first." I relented, sighing and touching his hand. Merlin, I was so pusillanimous when it came to Cedric. I plucked out my wand and spoke: "_Accio _Parcel!"

"Fin, I-" Cedric began as I gave him his present. I placed a hand over his mouth and shook my head.

"I don't want to talk about it, okay? Let's just forget the whole thing. Let's go see Ernie, I have to thank him for this top." I took Ced's hand and we walked down to Hufflepuff common together. Almost everyone was still shuffling drowsily around the black and gold decorated common room.

"Right. Stay here and I'll go get your present." He dragged me over to the yellow couch and nearly sat me on top of a dozing Zacharias Smith. Cedric sighed impatiently, picking him up by his scruff and hauling him off so I could sit. Wow. Ced must have been really eager to give me this present.

"OW! Hey! I'll-oh, it's you, Findabhair. You know, we could share that couch." He waggled his eyebrows and sat beside me, making a clicking sound with his tongue. I shoved him away, laughing.

"Smith! Only in your wildest dreams!"

"For Christmas? You didn't get me a gift." He fake pouted and puckered his lips.

"You're so obnoxious." I rolled my eyes and sighed, leaning away from him.

"Oh, what's this? A token?" He reached out and hooked a finger under the gold chain where the snitch zipped happily back and forth along its length.

"Christmas gift." I shrugged casually. "What are you doing looking at my neck, anyway?" I teased, prying his fingers off the delicate jewelry.

"Huh, his eyes were on their way down to your knockers and got distracted by something shiny. Don't take it personally, happens to him a lot." Hannah Abbott teased, cuffing Smith over the back of the head. He grinned cheekily and didn't even bother to deny it:

"Kudo's to Ernie for the v-neck." He snickered, slapping Ern a high-five.

"Ahem." Cedric had just come up from the boys dormitory, a menacing expression on his face. Zacharias dipped his head, instantly cowed.

"You should wear a less revealing top." Smith said flatly and wouldn't look me in the eyes.

"Maybe you should wear blinders." Ernie snickered and flopped down into one of the cushy yellow armchairs. I reached over and high-fived him, kicking Smith in the butt as he got up from the couch.

"Ha, Zacharias. Consider yourself pwned."

"Hufflepuff's: Unbeknownst to many, the sexual dynamos of the wizarding world." Susan Bones muttered very quietly from behind me and I grinned as Cedric searched around, lifting up the cushions to look for something.

"Where did that damn thing get to?" He grumbled, scooping me off the couch.

"AH! Cedric!" He set me back down roughly and bent down to search under the divan. Exasperated, he stood up and grabbed a retreating Ernie by the back of his Chudley Cannons jersey.

"Have you seen it?"

"Nope, not since this morning when all the girls were mauling it." It? What kind of present was this?

"Did it run off again?" Hannah asked from where she was sprawled out in front of the fireplace. Already, Cedric's present sounded like it was way cooler than mine. Oh boy.

"Yes, no thanks to you, chief cuddler." Alex Kalarney, one of the Hufflepuff beaters muttered from where he sat playing chess with Elie Simonson in the corner.

"Piss off." Hannah snapped, throwing her cushion at him.

"Can I help you guys find it?" I asked, standing up.

"NO!" The answer was immediate.

"Here," Cedric covered my eyes with his hand and placed something soft and furry in my arms. It took me a moment to focus on what he'd given me, I was so distracted by how close he was. I felt around the fuzzy object for a second before my jaw dropped. Ced took his hand away and stepped back, beaming.

It was a kitten. A perfect, tiny little black kitten with a ginger tip to her tail. It purred as I stroked the sleek, jet black fur from it's golden yellow eyes. It was perfect! I'd always wanted a cat! This made my present practically obsolete. I felt around the kittens neck for the collar, and looked at the tag. It flashed Merry Christmas, Findabhair! In luminescent, golden ink.

"Cedric!" I set the kitten down and threw myself at him, knocking him back into the armchair so he fell on top of Zacharias, who had dozed off again. Then it was like a gigantic, Hufflepuff group hug. It felt great to hear Cedric laugh with me, and to feel him hug me back. It wasn't a thrill of awareness, it was just the feeling of being loved. A little claustrophobic, maybe, because of what Val and I called the Hufflepuff Closeness Factor( It's impossible find a nonphysical Hufflepuff. They just love to hug, especially in large, close-knit communal groups.), but nonetheless, comforting. For a few seconds, I forgot all about Cho Chang, Oliver Wood and the dreaded Yule Ball. Total bliss, if only for a moment.

"Here!" I laughed, holding out his present hesitantly. "It's no where near as cool as a kitten, but, well…here!"

He took it from my hands and slowly undid the wrapping, smiling at me impishly. He knew I hated it when it took him forever to unwrap his gifts. I squirmed uncomfortably and sat down on the couch, stroking the kitten furiously. It meowed loudly in complaint and I let it go so it could curl up on the couch next to me and clean itself. Figuring he'd tortured me enough, he ripped off the wrapping and stared at the present in his hand in amazement.

It was a snitch, signed by Aidan Lynch. It had taken me ages to find and cost a fortune. None of that mattered, though. What mattered was the expression of absolute amazed joy on his face. Zacharias and Ernie, who'd been peering over his shoulder, turned to stare at me with open mouths. I laughed nervously and looked to Cedric.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it, Fin! This is the best Christmas present I've ever gotten! Thanks!" He hugged me tightly and I gasped for breath and patted him on the back.

"Your welcome!" I squeaked as he released me. "Um, it's also a portkey."

"To where?"

"The Quidditch Pitch." I smiled shyly and stroked the kitten again. His face was shining with joy as he looked down at me. "I thought it would be kind of cool."

"It's incredible! I love you!" He swept me into another hug. I love you. Sometimes I lamented how much those three words were overused.

"Findabhair? Fin? Fox?" I groaned and rolled over, falling right out of bed. Wait, not bed. A couch. A soft, overstuffed, yellow couch.

"Ah!" I sat up and smashed my head on the edge of the coffee table.

"Oh! Careful!" Cedric cried, hands on my shoulders as I clutched my injured cranium.

"What happened?" I moaned. "Why am I here?"

"Well, I gave you your Christmas present and you've been down here all morning. You dozed off about an hour ago. It's lunchtime." He explained, helping me up.

"Oh, bollocks! I'll see you tonight…I mean later! I-you know what I mean." I mumbled, scooping up Cashmere(my recently acquired kitten) and stuffing her in my sweatshirt pocket. Wait? My sweatshirt that was black and yellow and said Diggory across the shoulders?

"Your skin felt a little cold and I couldn't find a blanket." Ced supplied, shrugging his shoulders. Zacharias turned around and grinned at me.

"You slept through everything, Fin. I could have snogged you and you wouldn't have woken up."

"Smith." Cedric growled, glaring at him.

"It was just a joke." He muttered, but shut up and returned to his book.

"I better get back up to the common room before Val and Jedda start looking for me. Bye, guys. Cedric." I stood on tiptoe and gave him a hug. I was tall, but I wasn't 6'1. He hugged me back and waved as I rushed out.

"C'ya!" I raced up the stairs and checked my watch. One o'clock! I'd slept for ages! I was running so fast and so heedlessly that I smacked into someone, well, actually more like a lot of someone's. There were shrieks of dismay, the scent of Old Spice and pain as I cracked heads with somebody.

"FIN!" Valerie was one of the people I'd knocked over, and she was stepping on Harry Potter's head and trying to crawl over Jedda to get to me. She tripped and fell, knocking the wind out of Fred.

"Ouch!"

"Bugger!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Ron, get off me!" I'd know that snappish voice anywhere. Hermione Granger.

"I'm trying…ow! Stupid cat!" Cashmere had crawled out of Cedric's sweatshirt pocket and slashed Fred across the nose. Someone placed their hand on the small of my back and tried to scramble up, shoving my face down so I was nose to nose with Oliver.

"Hello." I said weakly, looking down into his pleasantly surprised expression.

"Hey," He smiled up at me and winked.

"Get your bum out of my face!" Jedda cried from behind me.

"Get your face out of my bum." George snapped angrily, disentangling himself from the melee.

"Here, Fox. Give me your hand-" I let him pull me to my feet. "Amazing how much devastation one Ravenclaw can cause, isn't it? Were their any other causalities?"

"Nope, I think everyone appears to have survived." Jedda was helping Potter to his feet, his glasses askew on his gangly face.

"Oliver, geroff!" Oliver was launched into the air as Josie kicked him in the small of the back, struggling to her feet.

"Ouch! Josie, I was getting up!" He complained then looked over at me with an eager smile. "We're out for a snowball fight, want to join?"

"Uh…I don't think I was really invit-"

"That's right, Oliver. She wasn't invited." Katie interjected, grinning at me sweetly.

"As I recall, neither were you." Hermione Granger muttered, rolling her eyes skyward at Oliver's guilty expression.

"If Jedda and Valerie were invited then Fin is too, dimwit. Now come on, Fox, whatcha say?" Fred gripped me firmly by the elbow and started steering me down the corridor.

"She says 'why yes, of course I'll play with your snow balls, Oliver'." George adopted a high girlish voice that sounded nothing like me as he snagged my other arm. "Come on Ronald, we pull you push."

"George Weasley! That is…highly inappropriate." I grumbled, shooting a glance at Oliver. He blushed furiously and rolled his eyes, sighing at their antics and giving me a sheepish smile.

"You sound like McGonagall, only she doesn't find innuendos in our harmless chatter-"

"That was clearly an innuendo-"

"Shush, Hermione."

"Fred, _really_-"

"YEAH, SNOW BALLS!! HOOT, HOOT, HOOT!!" Josie chanted, shoving us out the doors and laughing all the way.

"_Oh, thou art fairer than an evening air clad in the beauty of a thousand stars." ~Christopher Marlowe_

"OOOH!" Valerie twirled and eyed her reflection in the mirror, laughing. I smiled and straightened up, reaching for the zip at the back of my Yule ball gown as I turned to look at her, clad in a bright orange dress with a giant brown ribbon around her waist. Over that she wore a red and yellow shawl, looking like an Indian princess in the earthy tones. Val was ecstatic about it, her hair piled up on top of her head. The bodice had a bit of cat hair on it, though, proof that Cashmere had caught the hearts of my roommates as well.

"Very nice." I grinned at her and went to look at my reflection. Jedda poked her head over my shoulder and snickered.

"I thought that dress was green, did you change it?" She asked, shoving me aside so she could get a look at her gown, so navy blue it was almost black. Sparkles glittered over the breast of the strapless dress, so it looked as though she'd been sprinkled by stardust.

"Yeah," I sighed, pulling a lock of hair down over my right eye and playing with my silver earrings. The dragon pendant hung just below my collar bone, flexing its wings every so often. I'd replaced the snitch in it's box, feeling a little traitorous for doing so. It wasn't personal, I just liked silver better. I'd used a color change charm to make the gown black. It looked better that way, and it matched my mood. The dress was simple and elegant, with straps that wrapped around my upper arms.

"Let's go down, then, shall we?" I asked, opening the door and descending the stairs to the common room. My breath caught sharply as I reached the last step.

Cho was there. And she looked heartrendingly beautiful. Her white dress was trimmed in a very oriental style with tight collar and delicate silver thread that swirled in intricate designs. It was as pure a white as mine was black. I heard Val hum something under her breath that sounded vaguely like the first strains of 'Ebony and Ivory' and elbowed her in the gut as I descended the last step. Marietta turned on us and her mouth twisted into an unpleasant scowl. Merlin, who had dressed her? She was the most sickening shade of bright pink. It made her freckles stand out and her copper penny hair look brassy.

"What are you staring at, O'Brien? Going to a funeral?" She asked, cackling. Cho smirked at me, showing all her teeth in the most evil grin she could muster. She looked like a barracuda.

"You don't look dead to me, Marietta. Maybe I could fix that." I shot back, glaring at her. "Nice shade of pink, what are you trying to do, blind people?"

Marietta laughed so hard she doubled over. That was not the response I'd anticipated. Had I missed something here? I looked and saw Cho was no longer smiling, but trying to shut Marietta up. Also odd. Marietta mumbled something under her breath and grinned at me, before she burst out laughing.

"What did you say, Edgecombe?!" I snarled, trying to resist the urge to yank my wand from my hair bun and hex her into oblivion. She just remained giggling and shook her head.

"Come on, Fin. Let's go." Val glared at the pack of girls and she took my arm and tried to drag me towards the door. These were the kind of girls Cedric hung out with? How could he stand to kiss Cho? How could he?!

"Hang on, I'm not finished dressing-"

"Aw, Fin!" She let out an agonized whine as I sprinted back up the stairs. I rushed to my bed and yanked out the snitch pendant and fastened it around my neck, fumbling for the latch on the silver dragon and placed it in my jewelry box before slamming the lid. I stared at myself in the mirror for one furious moment before stepping back and casting another color change spell. Scarlet with a gold sash, that ought to make Oliver proud. I swiped the quaffle earrings and ripped out the silver ones, shoving the golden hooks through my ears so roughly a trickle of blood dribbled down one earlobe before I wiped it away. I dashed back down the steps and glared defiantly in Cho's direction.

"Well…what? Are we going or not?" I asked angrily when met with Val and Jedda's worried looks. We'd just reached the door when it swung open and Roger swept into a low bow.

"Ladies, I'm going to have to ask you to step aside and allow the Hogwarts Champion to greet his date." He called grandiosely. Cedric stood behind him, blushing almost the same red as the rose he held in his teeth. Merlin, he was handsome, to use the tamest term. My heart fluttered a little before I quashed the reaction. I gave Roger one look of utter disgust and shoved him down, trying to look as though I were barely acknowledging Ced's presence. What a lie. Every part of me was keenly aware of his existence.

"Get that flower out of your mouth, you tremendous prat." I snapped as I swept by him and down the steps, hiking up the skirt of my dress robes so I didn't trip. I paced around anxiously at the bottom of the stairs as I waited for Val and Jedda.

"He didn't even recognize you, you know." Valerie called down to me, practically stumbling over the hem of her dress.

"Stupid twit." Jedda rolled her eyes and caught my mood. "Fin? What is it?"

"Come on, I want to get out of here before Cho show's up." I exclaimed, listening to Valerie's dress scuffling across the floor.

"Amen to that." Jedda agreed, pushing open the thick oak door that lead out of the tower. We walked out together and I turned to close it behind me, resisting the urge to drag something heavy in front it.

"Olive?" Val asked and I turned to see Oliver, leaning up against a wall to our right. He turned his head at the sound of his name and stood there gaping at me.

"How long have you been out here?" I asked, laughing. "Oliver?

"Only a few minutes," He muttered belatedly, still staring at me. "Merlin, you look beautiful."

"Uh…You look great…too. Yeah, I thought you were going to meet me down in the Hall." I mumbled, embarrassed. I saw Val elbow Jedda in the gut and whisper something in her ear. Jedda nodded back and the two of them lunged forward, linking arms with me. I nearly melted with gratitude, I didn't want to walk alone with Oliver down to the ball, it would have been too weird.

We were almost all the way down to the hall when something passed between Valerie and Jedda. It was a look, almost like a signal and Jedda suddenly broke off and grabbed Oliver's sleeve.

"Hey, kiddo. Come with me." She tugged him aside and into the Great Hall. Val dragged me into the corner and turned me around.

"Okay, what's wrong?"

"Nothings wrong, Val."

"Oh, yeah. I believe you, Miss Paranoid Colour Schizophrenia." She rolled her eyes and poked me in the chest. "Whatcha trying to prove, eh?"

"I changed my dress because I felt like it." I grumbled.

"Oh, so something _is wrong. You don't have to overcompensate, Fin. I promised Jedda I was going to hit you with a cheering charm, but I'm letting it slide for now. Got it? So be good, for Oliver, at least." It was rare for Valerie to give me a lecture. Actually, I couldn't remember a time she'd ever really told me off like this. I just nodded mutely and looked down at my gown. It was okay, just not as good as it had been black._

" '_Lerie?" A voice asked from behind me and I turned. A dark haired boy with a distinct Russian accent was staring at Valerie questioningly. Val squealed and raced by me, leaping at the strange boy, who laughed and caught her._

"_Yegor!" She cried happily and then turned to introduce me. "Here, meet Fin. Fin meet Yegor."_

"_Hi," I said and shook his hand formally. He beamed at me and shook vigorously as Jedda poked her head around the corner and glared at us._

"_Come on, guys. It's dinner time." We followed her inside the sparkling Great Hall. It was gorgeous, decked out for a real wizarding Christmas…I almost smiled before I saw who was gawking at me as I entered. _

_One arm slung around Cho's shoulder, the other paused mid-reach across the table(apparently, he was so shocked that he hadn't noticed that his sleeve was soaking up gravy), was Cedric. He gaped at me open-mouthed, a look of unflattering disbelief on his face. I refused to meet his eyes and brushed my hair so it was over my left shoulder. I hid my face from his view, but tucked it behind an ear so I could still see him staring._

"_Where do you want to sit?" Oliver asked me, his voice right in my ear._

"_Sorry?" I jumped and turned to face him, my thoughts still on Cedric._

"_I asked where you wanted to sit, Fin. Do you feel alright?"_

"_Yeah, I'm fine, Oliver. Whatever, I don't care where we sit." I muttered, sneaking a glance at Cho and Ced. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and he turned to beam at her with his goofy little Cedric grin. My fingers clenched on Oliver's arm and I turned back to him and gave him a quick kiss on the corner of his jaw._

"_Huh…what? Oh," Oliver looked a little pink in the cheeks and smiled. "Thanks. What was that for?"_

"_The hell of it." I replied, trying not to smile at the loud crashing and swearing behind me as Cedric jerked his sleeve out of the gravy and knocked over his goblet, spilling both everywhere._

"_You gave Diggory an epileptic fit." He looked enthused by the havoc that my small gesture had elicited._

"_Did I?" I muttered lightly and slid my arm around Oliver's waist. "Let's go sit over there."_

"_Here, let me introduce you to Krum, first." Suddenly Oliver was dragging me in the opposite direction, over to Victor Krum. Bugger._

"_Oliver, I really don't think-" Towards Krum meant towards Cedric and Cho, which was the last place I wanted to be. _

" '_Ello, Oleever. Is dis or date?" Krum asked, smiling hugely. _

"_No, she's my foster sister." I felt Cedric's hand on my shoulder. Annoyance spiked sharply in the back of my head and I spoke just as harshly. _

"_And Oliver's date, yes. My name is Findabhair and it's a pleasure to meet such an incredible flier." Victor Krum smiled back at me and took my slender hand in his massive one and shook it. _

"_De pleasure is all mine, Foux." The reaction to that accent-butchered nickname was instantaneous: Oliver stiffened, Cedric leapt to his feet and Cho burst into giggles. _

"_What did you call her?!" Oliver said, eyebrows raised. Cedric's finger's were digging into my shoulder blades. Krum looked startled and turned to me innocently. _

"_It iz ur name, is it not? Za small, red and 'urry animal?" He motioned with his hands to emphasize his point. _

"_Oh," Cedric instantly relaxed and laughed nervously. "Fox, yeah, that's her nickname." _

"_But you can just call me Fin, if you'd like. Sorry about these two, awfully jumpy tonight, aren't they? It was good to meet you-" I seized Oliver's elbow and steered him away, stomping none to delicately on his foot as I did. Men, honestly!_


	9. Chapter 9

The Champion's Dance. I'd been dreading this part of the night as they all stepped out onto the floor, perfect and graceful apart from Harry and Parvati, who looked out of their depth among the older students. Fleur and Roger glided along swiftly, Krum and Hermione(I'd barely recognized her) were taking sharp, hesitant steps. And then, there was my least favorite pair. They danced beautifully of course, Cho sweeping about like a princess, her smile dazzling. Cedric stepped gracefully, leading her across the floor with a precision and intensity that was positively awe-inspiring. The perfect pair. Rebellion and regret surged deep in my chest and I stood, grasping at the table for support.

"Well, come on, Fin. Let's relieve them of their awkward misery." Oliver said cheerily and tugged me out onto the dance floor and fake waltzed for a few steps. He was trying to make me smile, to no avail. I sighed and tried to steer him in the right direction, barely putting effort into my steps. Ced and Cho danced by and I felt even more depressed then usual. "Fin?"

"What?"

"You look…well, beautiful. Really. Was the red and gold intentional?" He asked hesitantly, smiling at me.

"Thanks. Yeah, it was." I rolled my eyes and sighed. If only everybody else thought I was as beautiful as Oliver's misplaced infatuation made me out to be.

"Very foxy." He teased, his grin catching. I laughed before I could help myself, laying my head against his shoulder and then jerking away sharply. Whoops. I cringed and caught Cedric's expression from the corner of my eye. How could he smile so blissfully at Cho? Why couldn't it be me?! I _wanted _that from _him_! Not Oliver.

"Findabhair?"

"Yeah?" I heaved a weary sigh and looked up at his hurt expression. Oh, not that. It was hard enough dealing with my own problems without him personifying them for me.

"Do you feel alright? You only ate half your dinner-"

"I'm fine, Oliver." I snapped a little angrily as Marietta smacked hard into my shoulder, obviously doing it on purpose.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Oliver shouted at her. Wow, that was _really_ nice of him to do that for me. Her shocked look was heartening. Oliver looked back down at me and steered us off the floor, staring at me anxiously. "Do you want to rest for a few minutes?"

"Sure." I relented, sinking onto a bench along the wall and holding my head in my hands. "I feel a little dizzy. Go have fun, Olive. I'll be okay." I reassured him. So, I watched everybody else have fun.

Oh, he was so happy. I had to admit it, despite the fact that it felt like I was carving my heart out of my chest, at least Cedric was happy. Not fair, not fair, not fair! I wanted to stomp my foot and scream it like a child. What I would have given to be the one to make Cedric that…_exultant_? Could he ever smile like that while looking at me? I mulled it over and Cedric caught me looking. He glanced at me sheepishly and tried to smile. I returned the expression weakly and waved, the golden bangles jingling lightly. Jedda sat down beside me, took a huge swig of Butterbeer and belched loudly.

"Are you waving? Seriously? You sad, sad little girl. Go out and have fun!"

"Oh yeah, because you're just the patron saint of fun." I muttered, too dejected to even bother snapping at her properly. She glared at me with her heavy lidded, black lined eyes and snorted.

"If you start crying, I'll slap you."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Go play with Oliver, he's totally preoccupied with something." She gestured to where Olive was chatting away to Fred and George, who kept sneaking glances at the dance floor out of the corner of their eyes. Hoping for an escape, no doubt. Once Oliver got going, he really got going. I sighed and stood up reluctantly. "Booyah! Go get'em, Fox."

"Funny." I shot back over my shoulder.

"I try." She smiled at me as her date, Thomas Richter, took the seat I'd just vacated. Okay. Time to use those amazing acting skills of mine. I took a deep cleansing breath and opened my eyes, a totally new person. A smiling, happy person.

"Hey, Wood?" Oliver looked up at me in surprise and Fred and George practically melted with relief as they rushed off with their dates. I waved my arm with a flourish and beckoned to him. "Fancy a dance?"

"Feeling better, I see." He took my arm and spun me once. I spun close to his chest and got a hold of his tie, dragging him down a little.

"Was that a yes or a no?" I asked, making myself smile.

"Yes, definitely yes." I took his wrist and pulled him out into the middle of the floor and started to dance at what I thought was a normal pace. It took me a minute to realize Olive couldn't keep up. And(to my utter delight) neither could Cho. Cedric looked like he was the only thing holding her up, she kept tripping in her stupid shoes. Oliver was just leaping up and down between gasping breaths. It reminded me of a fish that had been jerked out of water and left flopping around and gaping. Quidditch, despite being a great sport, really doesn't develop all that much cardio-vascular endurance.

"Here, let's get a drink." I sighed, dragging him off the floor and sitting him down.

"I'm…fine…" He coughed loudly, sweat dripping off his brow.

"Sure you are, Oliver." I tried to push him back into his seat as he rose.

"I'll go get us something to drink. You sit."

"Fine." I let him walk off to go get a butterbeer or two. I brushed my hair back and shook it out, watching Cedric with a morose expression. Even though Cho was pitifully awful at a simple waltz, he made her look passable.

"May I have this dance? Oh, wait, of course I can." Someone yanked me up and out of my seat.

"Roger-!" I gasped in outrage. "You already have a date! What on earth do you want from me?!"

"Come on Findabhair, be a sport. You're my leverage, everyone knows an ounce of jealousy is worth a pound of gallantry…There! It's working already!" He jerked his head to over where Fleur was glowering like she was ready to perform the cruciatus curse on me at the first reliable opportunity.

"ROGER! She's going to kill me." I tried to pull away but he kept his hold on me.

"But look, Fin. It's working for you, too." He swept out in a bow and gestured with his hand. I looked up and saw Cedric casting us a shocked expression from over Cho's shoulder. Oliver was standing with two butterbeers and a slightly frustrated look on his face.

"Oliver's going to sock you in the jaw, Roger."

"See? Now I've helped you with two boys. That's quite an IOU." He winked at me and sighed when I continued to glare at him. "Oh, fine. You're no fun. I'm off to go snog the little French flower."

He released my hands and I spun slightly, trying to recover my balance. I heard the sharp, angry staccato sounds behind me and winced. Oh no. it was probably an incensed veela girl. Just my luck.

"That's really, truly sad." I looked up at the sound of her voice, a ripple of trepidation jolting down my spine.

"Hello, Katie." I said slowly, like I was talking to a mad dragon. I turned and looked at her, her dress dark blue satin and her hair artfully done up in bronze ringlets.

"Don't 'hello' me, O'Brien. You cant be happy until they're both on your arm, can you?" She obviously wasn't in a civil mood. Not that she was ever nice to me, but tonight she seemed particularly nasty.

"I don't know what your talking about, Katie."

"Don't patronize me! You've got to take Oliver from me and now you're moving in on Diggory! Your despicable-"

"Yep, that's me! The Fox of Ravenclaw, whoop-de-fucking-do." I snarled, standing up and turning on her. "Just bugger off, Katie, you don't know what your talking about."

"Make m-"

"Katie?" Oliver arrived in time to save the day, looking at us with a wary expression.

"Oliver. I was just leaving. Have fun with your date, while it lasts." She shot me one last venomous glare and turned on her heel, stomping off.

"Cho looks beautiful." I blurted as he returned, unable to conceal my dislike for the girl who had caught Ced's heart so completely. They looked like something out of a romance movie. Oliver glanced over at me and raised an eyebrow, setting down his bottle and turning to me. He stuck his hand out and I took it."Dance?" It sounded less like a question and more like an assumption. I let him drag me out onto the dance floor, surprised by his attitude. Oliver could be serious? Oliver Wood? Was I still dancing with the same boy who I'd known since my first year at Hogwarts or had someone downed a polly juice potion and replaced my date? He whipped me around a little roughly and took my waist, I set my hands on his shoulders and stumbled around trying to keep up with his huge steps. This wasn't even the waltz anymore, it was him stomping around like an annoyed Hippogriff-

"Stop watching your feet and look at me. Findabhair!" He hissed loudly and my head snapped up to stare at him. He glared down at me with a truly fierce look. His mouth was a hard line, twisted down at the corners. I looked away again, ashamed. I'd been neglecting him as a date, selfishly focusing on Cedric and Cho and moping around. But we'd gone as friends, and I thought he'd be so busy hanging out with his mates that he wouldn't notice my reluctance. Guilt washed over me as I realized he could have asked any girl here and she would have been more then overjoyed to be his date. And there were loads of better-

"Fin, what is wrong with you? What are you staring at?" I blinked and realized I'd been staring at Cedric again. I shook my head and let Oliver drag me roughly off the dance floor again. If I hadn't been so depressed, I would have complained.

"Well?" He demanded, looking me right in the eye. I sighed and shrugged, looking out over the Great Hall. I would have loved to let my hair fall over my face and hide the tears, but it was curled into a tight bun at the back of my head. I felt like the very worst kind of person, dancing with a boy whom I didn't like(at least not romantically) to get back at a boy who didn't like me. Stringing Wood along with false hopes as the puppet in my sick game of subterfuge.

Thinking about all of it made my head spin and my stomach twist violently. The Gryffindor colours of my dress suddenly felt very plain. I was a spot of unhappiness amid a myriad of vibrant colours. Padma, stunning in turquoise as she danced with a boy from Beauxbatons. Then there was Hermione, her beauty a startling change from how she usually looked. My Quidditch captain, Roger Davies, looked like he was about to die of joy from his marvelous stroke of luck at getting Fleur Delacour to go to the ball with him. She was, as always, a stunning picture of near perfect veelaness. Her dress was gray satin and I got another little pang when I realized how elegant and tall she looked.

But they were all so perfectly, evanescently happy and I wished for them that I could freeze this moment in time, and they could all live forever in their blissful, fairy-tale world. In a place where the magic never faded or darkened, where they could be happy evermore. I felt like I was gazing at the perfection of a tiny snow-globe, all it's little figures fixed with happy expressions, living in a bubble of joy. But I was on the outside, dealing with the real world…but, oh, how selfish I was! Dragging Oliver out of his own happy bubble.

"Findabhair, look at me!" He pleaded, startling me.

"I'm sorry Oliver, maybe you should find someone else to dance with. I'm not in the mood." I mumbled lamely, trying to turn my head away so I didn't have to look him in the eyes. His fist kept my chin turned up and all I could do was look down, trying to screw up my eyes against the tears. _Please, Oliver, just go. Find a girl who'd be more then glad to be your partner. _I thought, wincing a little. Releasing my chin, He tried to catch my eye by ducking down to see my face. After a minute, he sighed and turned his head away. Good.

But instead of walking away, like I'd anticipated, he hugged me. Well, it was a loose interpretation of the word 'hug', I had to admit. Terms like 'smother' and 'suffocate' were probably better adjectives to describe his sudden embrace. It wasn't one of those rough, Quidditch style, we-won-the-match hugs. It was that gentle, cradling hug. A boyfriend hug. Well, it was Oliver's _attempt _at gentle and cradling.

"Oliver?" I muttered into his chest, wriggling a little. I turned my head to the side so my voice was less muffled. "Oliver?"

"I don't want to dance with anyone else, Fin. I came to this dance with you." He stepped back allowing me to breathe, eyeing me with the kind of wild, reckless look that made me nervous. What was he on about now?

"Is that why your so upset? Did you think that I didn't care? I do care, Findabhair, I really care!" He babbled, eyes shining as brightly as though he'd just seen a veela or single-handedly won the House Cup. Care about what? Had someone confunded him on his way back with the drinks?

"Ce-Oliver? Are you alright?" I asked, trying to take a step back from him, just in case he randomly burst into song. The slow music they'd been playing in the background came to a end and he leaned forward towards me, face suddenly very serious. What was-

"Hey, Fin! There you are!" I turned my head at Cedric's voice, my heart skipping several beats as I saw his beaming face. Oliver jumped and we bonked heads, swearing loudly.

"OUCH!"

"Cedric!" I rejoiced, twisting in Oliver's arms in an attempt to turn towards him. Cedric grinned nervously at me, eyes darting between Oliver and I.

"Hello, Oliver! Having a good time?" The words sounded a little forced and for a moment, Cedric's smile faltered. Oliver released me like I'd burned him and shot Cedric a glare so livid it frightened me.

"Good time!" He spat before turning on his heel and storming off in the opposite direction. "I'm going down to the lake." He called callously over his shoulder and then stomped off. Cedric came to stand beside me, his face a little troubled.

"What's his problem?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. I took a deep breath and tried to sort out my warring thoughts before answering.

"I haven't the faintest clue. So, where's Cho?"

"She's gone to take a break with some of her friends, she doesn't like the fast songs." He rolled his eyes skyward in mock annoyance and sighed. "I know you love those." He added a little unnecessarily. Leave it to Cho to be a gooey, disgustingly lovey-dovey romantic. And to place herself before everyone else.

"I-" We began in unison, cutting each other off.

"Uh…haha…you first." Cedric laughed a little and gestured for me to say whatever I was going to say.

"You like the fast songs, though." I pointed out, frowning. "Won't she dance to the songs you like as well as her own? I know you love fast songs as much as I do."

"Well…should she?" He asked, looking confused. I sighed, sometimes he was such a dolt.

"That's what a good girl-friend would do." I rolled my eyes as we walked. He laughed and smiled down at me, making my heart stumble.

"You know, I never believed Dad when he said that even if I picked the best girl in the world, she would never be good enough for me in your eyes." I gulped, Amos was more perceptive then I gave him credit for.

"In my eyes?" I snorted, trying to sound offhand. "There are plenty of girls good enough for _you_, Cedric. Just not that one." _This one could be!_ A little voice in my head whined obnoxiously. I felt the anxious jealousy writhe in the pit of my stomach and winced. Forcing myself to focus on something else, I recognized the tune in the background.

"Hey! This is your favorite song!" I laughed, grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the dance floor before I could force myself to remember our circumstances. He allowed me to, hesitating only slightly and shooting a nervous glance at the drinks table before joining me.

"Hey, I was talking to Smith earlier." He spoke, pulling me around. "He said it was a shame we both got partners that couldn't dance."

"Well, it's a good thing we're going to dance now, then, isn't it?" I laughed, trying to ignore the tense feeling in my stomach. He snickered, still hesitant. I laughed and let him spin me in a circle. The music was fast paced, hypnotic almost. I spun around by myself for a moment and shimmied, loving the sound of the instruments cacophonous harmony. Suddenly, we were flying across the floor. I'd forgotten how much fun it was to really _dance_! I knew that to the adults, it wasn't 'actual' dancing. But to us, it was being free of all inhibition, swaying to the beat and letting our feet fly faster and faster and our hearts thunder. One rhythm, one beat that rose on the air like a perfume.

Music! We were all dancing, a flow of fast, aggressive movements. I caught glimpses of the others, Ernie and Susan Bones were dancing close and laughing. Valerie was 'jiving' with the Durmstrang boy Yegor who simply gazed at her in amazement, and caught her when she tripped(every other step). Jedda was staring stonily at the ceiling and slow-dancing with her partner, Thomas Richter. Then Hermione, swinging her hips and laughing as Krum moved in his own interpretation of the music, which meant leaping up and down like a frightened niffler. I laughed and spun around, suddenly caught by his intent look. I stopped breathing and spinning as I gazed at Cedric's intense expression. He always took dancing so seriously, it was almost frightening. Then we were dancing even faster then before and I couldn't catch my breath. We were flying, driven by the force of the wild music as though imperiused. There was joy and sound all mixed into one intangible essence. Our bodies close, swaying rhythmically and aggressively until they'd all made space for us. We threw back our heads and laughed with joy. It was like we were one person while at the same time two completely different forces. Like fire and ice or something equally as powerful. I felt I could do anything, reach anything, like I could make the sky fall with a snap of my fingers…Then, as suddenly as it had started, the song was over.

"Whoa," I gasped, still too elated to admit I was tired. My heart pounded against my ribcage so hard I was sure the entire hall could hear it.

"Too fast?" Ced laughed and I realized I was leaning against his shoulder. I straightened up and pressed a hand to my chest.

"Never too fast for me!" I retorted, shoving him. He staggered back laughing, and I reached up and brushed his bangs out of his eyes before I'd even considered the gesture. I twitched a little and let my hand drop back to my side. Val was staring at me from over Yegor's shoulder, warning me with a look.

"OOOOHH!!" Fred Weasley wolf-whistled from somewhere to my left.

"Shut up!" I laughed, feeling the blood rush to my face. I was too happy to be annoyed by his teasing right now.

"I didn't know you could dance like _that_!" Ernie spluttered, staring at us aghast.

"For gods sake, Ern. You saw us in the Room of Requirement. We can't really dance." Cedric shrugged out of his coat and lay it across a bench.

"Speak for yourself!" I gasped, mock outraged.

"That wasn't dancing, blimey, you two! That was poetry in motion! That made the Room of Requirement look like nothing." Ernie was still staring at me like I'd grown wings.

"Put your tongue back in your head, Macmillan." I rolled my eyes and plopped down on the bench beside Cedric.

"What _was _that?" Susan Bones had joined her date in gaping at us in astonishment. She stared at me in particular, her eyes wide in shock.

"We like fast songs." Ced shrugged again, looking embarrassed.

"Like fast songs!? Like fast songs?!"

"Yes, fast songs." I replied, glaring at Ernie now. Honestly, all we did was dance. You would have thought we'd stabbed someone, the way he was going on about it. Suddenly, my entire body tensed and an angry thrill chased itself down my spine. Marietta. She flounced along in her hideous pink dress, making a bee-line for us. I stood up and my fists clenched.

"Oh, great." Susan ground her teeth and grimaced.

"Hey, guys!" She wheedled, squeezing herself in beside Susan. My entire body shook with tension and repressed disgust. "Nice dancing." She cooed, shooting me a vicious grin.

"Yeah, thanks. It was fun," I spat back, glaring at her. "Such a shame Cho doesn't like fast songs, isn't it?"

"Guess it is." Her tiny mouth twisted into an expression of distaste. "Cho actually wanted to talk to you, Findabhair."

"Why?" Cedric asked before I could reply, standing in front of me. Oh hell. He thought he was helping, but he was just giving her ammunition. I stepped out from behind him and stared Marietta down.

"Funny, you don't look like an owl to me, Mari." Susan Bones gasped and stepped back. Ignoring me, Marietta turned her unattractive face towards Cedric.

"Cho misses you." She hinted, giving him a beady eyed stare. Susan and Ernie, who'd been watching the scene turn nastier comment by comment, melted back into the crowd; hoping to avoid a fight should one arise.

"Oh, right!" He seemed to remember that he had a date, his face lighting up. He stood and spun me once, then let go of my hand. My heart twisted unpleasantly as I watched him go to Cho, take her gratefully into his arms and allow her to peck him on the lips. I blinked away a tear and felt it roll down my cheek, tickling my sensitive lips.

"That'll be the babagil's again." Luna Lovegood said from behind me, making me jump.

"The what's?" I asked, trying to find the little missing piece of my heart that had decided to run off.

"Babagil's." She repeated, blinking at me. "You've had them for a while, you know. They're very tiny, they sneak into your body through your nostrils and eat at your heart."

"Oh," I decided not to try and make sense of her Loony babble right now. I half-believed her, slumping back against the wall in defeat.

"I think you've given them to Oliver Wood." She told me, playing with a strand of her hair absently.

"I've what-Oliver!" I gasped, clapping a hand to my mouth. I'd completely forgotten about him!

"Don't worry, they usually leave after a few months! He'll be fine!" She called after me as I fled the floor. I grabbed the skirt of my dress and stumbled down the steps, nearly twisting my ankle in my stupid heels.

I dashed by Fleur and Roger, who were busy snogging their brains out in an alcove. I guess she'd forgiven him, then. Running a hundred yards into the dark grounds, I sprinted to the shore of the lake.

"Oliver! OLIVER!!" I bellowed, trying to fish my wand out of my hair bun. It had gotten tangled after the dancing and the elastic snapped. I swore quietly and fiddled around with the damn thing. "Oliver! Oliver Wood!" I cried, feeling like an idiot. He was probably back in his common room by now, and I was standing out here in the cold yelling at an empty lake and-

"What are you shouting for?" I jumped and tried to yank my wand out of my hair, only to jerk it painfully. Oliver stepped out from behind a tree with an innocent expression on his face.

"Oliver! You silly twit, you scared the heck out of me! What are you still doing out here?" I demanded, biting back a yelp as I fought to get my wand out of my wildly tangled hair. Oliver snickered and walked over to help me.

"Here, stay still Fin."

"Ow! Ouch!" I whimpered as he touched my hair gently, giving experimental tugs here and there.

"Shush! You're going to hurt yourself if you're not more careful. Let me help you, there." He slowly untangled it with his fingers and handed me my wand. I sighed and smiled at him, brushing my hair back from my eyes.

"Thanks." I said, whipping my head back so I could see. He watched me, seemingly in awe of my presence.

"Anytime." He replied distractedly, still watching me with that intense, careful look.

"Oliver…" I began slowly, leaning against the tree he'd been hiding behind. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Never been better." Did he put a little to much emphasis on the never, or was it just me?

"You're-"

"I have to-" That was the second time that night I'd said something at the same time as boy. It was really starting to get annoying. Like the time Darek Diggory, Ced's closest cousin, had a fetish for muggle VCR's and felt the need to press the pause-rewind-pause button repeatedly. Somehow, it had been cute when Cedric interrupted me. With Olive, it was just annoying. Oliver didn't wait for me to speak, but launched into an explanation.

"Fin, there isn't a single other girl who I wanted to dance with in that hall." He seemed to stumble over his words, but his fervent stare never wavered. "I came with you, Fin."

"Thanks….I think."

"You're not getting it, are you? Findabhair! Look at me! I like you. A lot. I love you."

"I…" My heart stopped and my mind wound itself in knots as I realized what he meant. "Oliver, I-"

Before I could finish my weak protest, he was kissing me. It was my first kiss and I was utterly speechless. His lips were very light on mine, and his fingers gentle at the nape of my neck. It felt good and horrible at the same time. Almost like someone had confunded me and I couldn't piece thoughts together into any sort of coherent order. And then I realized, my first kiss? From Oliver Wood?! NO! Oh friendship would never be the same, it would suffer. And what would Cedric think? Fear and shock battled against a feeling of treachery and I placed my hands against his chest and pushed him off.

"No! Don't- FIN!" I was running now, wrenching my arm from his grasp and fleeing across the dark grounds. I made it a hundred yards before my ankle twisted sharply and pain shot through it. Heedless of the damage in my terror, I fumbled with the stupid strap and ripped it off my foot.

"Findabhair?" I yelped with pain and yanked the other shoe off and limped back towards the castle. He was right behind me, walking quickly to keep up with my gimpy run. "Fin, stop. Fin, you're going to hurt yourself."

I choked back a hysterical sob, why were boys so stupid? I put weight on my ankle and it twisted again and I fell to the ground with a cry of pain. Oliver caught me under my arms and helped me to my feet, a guilty look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Oliver." I choked, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.

"No, I'm sorry. I should have asked you first, I'm sorry. Don't cry, Fin. Don't cry." He picked me up and I felt like I was betraying someone, ripping little bits of my heart away. The memory of the World Cup came back to me, Cedric holding me up after I hurt my ankle. Another sob broke through my shaky breaths as I pressed my tear streaked face into Oliver's shoulder.

"Does it hurt?" He asked bleakly, I nodded into his shoulder. I knew he meant my ankle, but that wasn't what hurt. My chest hurt. I heard voices as we neared the hall again.

"Oliver? Oh my god, is that Fin?" Valerie's frantic voice reached my ears

"Yeah, she tripped, Val…I think it was her shoes." He mumbled and she rushed over, an anxious look on her face.

"You freaking killed her!" Jedda exclaimed, shoving through the doorway to get a look at me.

"I'm honestly fine." I hiccupped, anxious to get out of Wood's arms before we reached the hall. "I just hurt my ankle a little-"

"Fin? Fin?!" Josie Morong was rushing towards me and several kids around the door had started to gasp and shout. Bloody brilliant. In less then moments, against all efforts to avoid a scene; there were a crowd of kids in the hallway that lead off towards the infirmary. And there, pushing through the crowd as though his very life depended upon it, was Cedric.

"Fin?! Fin, what happened? Give her here." He urged, hands shaking as he reached towards me. I'd never seen him so worried before. His face was ghostly pale.

"No, I'm really fine!" I protested, feeling Oliver's arms tighten around me protectively. I wriggled and he lost his grip, fumbling for a moment as I fell with a yelp, my injured ankle twisting underneath me again. I felt my face grow hot, and hid my embarrassment from the crowd with a hand over my eyes, stifling another sob of pain. Oh, I was so mortified. Someone kill me now.

"Is she okay?" Cho's voice rang, shrill with false sincerity.

"I don't know, what do you reckon happened?" I heard Fred's voice indistinctly over the murmur of the swelling crowd.

"I already told you, she tripped!" Oliver's voice was defensive, a little further away then before. Someone had there arms wrapped clumsily around my shoulders and I dragged in a shuddering breath that smelled of cologne. Not Old Spice, but a more expensive scent. It must have been Cedric. He never wore anything, though. He smelled good enough without it, in my opinion. But another pair of arms were wrapped around my neck and I opened my eyes, vision obscured by a sheet of raven dark hair. Cho's perfume was cloyingly sweet and I gagged and tried to stand up. She pushed me back down and I gasped, biting my lip to stop another yelp.

"I'd like to hear that from her, thanks." Maybe I imagined the threat in Cedric's words, the vicious snarl in his voice as he snapped at Wood.

"Easy, Fin. What happened?" Ced shuffled so he was kneeling in front of me, brushing my hair back from my face and watching me with a frightened look.

"I-I…tripped." I slowed my breathing as Cedric helped me to my feet. Yuck, I felt faint with pain. "Where does it hurt?" Oliver asked, milling around behind Cedric with an anxious expression on his face. Where does it hurt?! I glared at him and lifted my leg off the ground.

"Oh, I don't know…" I pretended to deliberate. "How about in my twisted ankle!" I snapped waspishly, trying to make up for my whimpering with a little biting sarcasm. But my ankle hurt, though not nearly as much as my heart. I limped forward in an ungainly fashion and tried to stop crying. The dizziness was getting worse…

"Cedric…" I moaned weakly, leaning against him heavily. I was going to faint…

"FINDABHAIR! FIN!"

"She's dieing, you totally killed her, you PRAT!"

"Ow, stop! Hey! Valerie!" Oliver's voice was from somewhere high in the air and all I could see was Cedric's horrified expression as I realized I'd lost consciousness as he held me up.

"You had to make a scene of it, didn't you, Fin?" Jedda complained nervously, her eyes alight with real worry.

"Clear out, all of you!" George called, pushing and shoving people back into the Hall. "Nothing to see, chaps!"

"What is going on here, Mr. Weasley?" Professor McGonagall. Oh, joy. "Is that Ms. O'Brien?!"

"Well, yes…she did something to her ankle."

"Move aside and let me see! Come now, Diggory, She won't break!" McGonagall elbowed her way past Cedric and ducked under Oliver's arm. She did not, however, make any effort to release me from Cho's strangle hold on my neck. I winced and stuck my ankle out, clawing at a statue of a dragon to keep my balance. She examined it carefully and then gave me a shrewd stare.

"How did this happen?" She asked in a clipped tone of voice.

"She tripped." Cedric and Oliver chorused before I could open my mouth.

"On my stupid shoe." I grumbled, shooting a look at Oliver, who was holding my pair of heels.

"This is a clean break, O'Brien. Explain yourself." She raised an eyebrow and glared at me. Cedric shot a murderous look at Oliver who instantly opened his mouth to defend himself.

"I twisted it over the summer," I said loudly over Oliver, "I must have injured it again."

"Hmm, very well. Ms. Chang, Mr. Diggory, please return to the Hall-"

"But I-" Cedric opened his mouth to protest but McGonagall glared at him and the words died in his throat.

"Now, Diggory. Wood, come with me." And then she waved her wand and I felt a cushioning charm under my knee, giving me something to rest my leg on. Oliver was still staring after Ced's retreating back, his lip curled. "Ahem." McGonagall cleared her throat impatiently.

"Oh, sorry." He let me lean on his arm as we made our way to the infirmary. As we reached the door, I heard the sound of rushing footsteps as Madam Pomfrey burst out of the corridor to our left, hiking up the skirts of her red and white dress robes.

"You _promised _me," She panted, glaring at me. "That I wouldn't see you in the infirmary this year for anything more then a paper cut! The both of you! Danger magnets! If it's not Quidditch, it's something else!" She snapped, pushing open the door to the infirmary and bustling inside, lighting a lamp or two with her wand. Oliver helped me limp inside to one of the beds nearest the windows and gently lower myself onto the mattress.

"Poppy, I'll be going. I have to-" Professor McGonagall, peered around the corner anxiously; where the sounds of crashing could be heard.

"Yes, yes!" Madam Pomfrey muttered quickly, bundling her out the door. She shut it and turned her gaze on Oliver, who had pulled up a chair and settled down for what looked like a permanent stay. "You, Wood? What is it this time?"

"Not me, just Fin. She broke her ankle."

"Hmm, these shoes?" She grabbed one of the stiletto heels from where they dangled around Oliver's neck and examined it briefly. Without warning, she pounced on my ankle and I yelped as she felt along the injury, placing pressure in all the wrong areas and making me jerk and twitch.

"Hush!" She told me, giving me another eagle eyed stare. "Why didn't you get this healed properly the first time? Hmm? I'll have to keep you overnight-"

"Aw, not again!" I groaned, lying back against the pillow. She yanked the curtain around my bed and handed me a pair of PJ's , unzipping the back of my dress and helping me out of it. She continued to nag me as I got into the loose pjama's and sat back on the bed. She pulled the curtain back again and gave Oliver a cold glare.

"Yes, again. Sometimes, I think you do this purposely. You've been in here at least once after every Quidditch match…no thanks to you," She glowered at Oliver and he winced. "Yet still, in a year when the only trouble you could possibly stir up would be of your own devices," I opened my mouth to object but she spooned a glob of some ghastly potion down my throat and I broke off gagging. "Which I'm not entirely sure that this isn't-" She gestured to my ankle. "-You, against all probability, somehow manage."

"But-"

"No buts!" She raised the spoon again threateningly and I clamped my mouth shut. "On the night of the Yule Ball, as well! I hope you know, you've ruined all my fun-"

"You could go back down to the Ball," I blurted, feeling guilty. She made a jabbing motion with the spoon and I dodged another mouthful, speaking quickly. "I wouldn't mind."

"And leave you up here? In the presence of all these dangerous objects? I think not." She snorted, grabbing my chin and forcing my mouth open so she could shovel some more glop into it.

"I'll stay with her," Oliver offered, his expression hopeful. Madam Pomfrey gave him a patronizing look and shook her head.

"I think not! Leaving a boy up here with a girl-"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I argued through my mouthful. The potion had a weird, pasty texture that could neither be chewed nor properly swallowed. It smelled like a Blast ended skre-oh, ergh! I started to retch and Madam Pomfrey leaned over and rubbed her bony fingers up and down my throat rapidly.

"Swallow!" She commanded as I forced the stuff down my throat. I coughed and sat up, looking over at her innocently.

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologize!" She snapped, propping my ankle up on some pillows. Oliver watched calmly, standing guard over me as she fussed. After she was sure I was comfortable, she turned on Wood.

"You. Out."

"But, I-"

"Oh very well!" She had already decided he could stay even before she agreed, I could tell. "Give me your wrist."

"What do you want with my…Hey!" She had bound his left wrist to the headboard of the bed beside mine, a smug look lurking under her brisk demeanor. "There! Now, think about what you've done! Dragging me away from the Ball for your notoriously weak ankles!"

"I don't have weak ankles!" I shouted after her as she slammed the door of her office with a bang. Oliver started to chuckle and gave me the benefit of one of his sweet smiles.

"You do have weak ankles, you know." I grabbed the pillow beside me and walloped him with it. He laughed and I shushed him, waiting for a minute of utter silence.

"Hey, Poppy?" I yelled, using her first name to annoy her. "Can I have a glass of water?"

I thought I heard a shallow snort from the direction of her office. I giggled quietly and lay back against the pillow, amazed by how much better I felt lying in the infirmary. Now, I just had to forget the whole disastrous fiasco had ever occurred and just sleep. I heaved a sigh and closed my eyes. Something brushed across my forehead and I jerked back, startled.

"Sorry." Oliver muttered, pulling his hand away and watching me.

"Why are you still here?" I asked, trying to sound casual and failing utterly.

"Because I want to be." He sighed and clasped his hands together, resting his elbows on his knees. "Is that so horrible?"

I looked at him and my heart twisted. Oliver Wood was definitely very attractive, you'd have to be blind to miss that. He was sweet, kind, and one of my very best friends. And in the end, I'd betrayed his friendship. I'd rejected him with a kind of brutal cruelty that no human being, no matter how misguided their good intentions, should have to suffer. I covered my face with my hands and sucked in a deep breath.

"I'm a monster." I moaned quietly, the tears returning.

"But I know you don't mean to be," He whispered softly, not a drop of venom or self pity in his voice. I felt his warm fingers curl around mine and pull them back from my face.

"Come on, Oliver, be honest." I whispered, hating myself more and more as the night progressed. He looked down at me uncertainly and then his understanding expression crumpled. He was hurt and upset, and his right hand tightened in mine.

"You've lead me on for a while, Fin." He admitted, looking down at his feet so he didn't have to meet my eyes. "I knew you didn't realize it, but part of me always hoped that someday, you would figure it all out on your own. But you didn't. You're too-"

"Stupid." I muttered, wanting nothing more then to just smack my head against a brick wall for all the pain I was causing him.

"No, not stupid." He hurried through his explanation. "Too capricious."

I blinked and turned to stare at him. What? Had Oliver Wood just used the word capricious? And in the right context? He saw my expression and gave a another soft, unhappy laugh. Rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand, he explained: "I've been studying a lot lately, improving my vocabulary."

"Why?" Why on earth would he do something as silly as that?

"Well, I thought you'd like me better." He muttered sheepishly, his face falling. I frowned, where did my Oliver go? Was he hopelessly lost in all of this fake Oliver? "You were too happy and confident to realize…" He sighed again and I squeezed his hand. "I guess ignorance is bliss, isn't it?"

"No, it isn't. Ignorance is bollocks." I retorted, glaring at my ankle. If I had recognized my own selfishness for what it was, this never would have happened.

"You know what hurts me more then anything else?" He asked gently, gazing at our entwined fingers.

"Me." I mumbled pitifully, watching his face.

"No, seeing you unhappy everyday because of him. Seeing the anguish in your eyes every time he smiles at you…every time he kisses Cho. I want you to smile again, Fin. Really, truly smile. For yourself and not for him." He stared into my eyes with a steady unwavering gaze. The depth of his emotion frightened me because I saw it in myself. I would say these same things to Cedric if I could.

"I still smile." I tried to show him, but my mouth turned down at the corners in a grimace.

"I wish I could make you smile like he does," Oliver said bitterly, toying with my fingers. "I wish you could see yourself. It's like someone turned a light on in your head or something. For a few seconds, your happy again. I want to be the one who makes you smile."

"Which do you think is more painful? Loving someone you cant have, or having someone you cant really love?" I sighed and lay on my back, staring at the ceiling. Oliver winced and I could feel his gaze on my face. His fingers squeezed mine until I felt sure they would break like twigs in his grasp. I endured the pain like it was penance. I was so cruel! It must have been a genetic throwback from my parents Deatheater personalities.

" I'm but a humble Gryffindor, I don't speak in riddles. You'll have to explain that one to me, your most exalted queen of Ravenclaw." He snorted, brushing off rejection by pretending to be snarky about the entire thing.

"Oliver, don't go committing treason against the crown!" I tried to lighten his mood. "That's Cho, not me." He just glared at me until I looked away. "Fuck." I swore very quietly. Suddenly he threw my hand out of his and stood up, jerking his bound wrist as he raised his arms in disgust.

"Am I really that hideous? Did you never feel anything for me, ever?! Fin…I can't take this anymore! I can't bare the empty looks, watching you…and him!" He clutched his skull like it was splitting apart and flopped down on the bed across from me and groaned. Then, ripping his hands away from his face, he glared at me. "He cares a lot about you, obviously. Flirting around with Cho when he's got the most beautiful girl in the school pining over him like he's some kind of- of-" Oliver, lost in his fury, could not find a word foul enough for Cedric. The most beautiful girl in the school? Who was that? I buried my face in the pillow so I didn't have to meet his angry gaze. "Doesn't that bother you, Findabhair? That he's to caught up in himself to realize your infatuation-"

"Hey!" I snapped angrily. "Infatuation? Excuse me, Oliver, but infatuation is a derivative of the Latin root word stupid, and that makes it a purely derogatory phrase-"

"It is stupid! I may not know what derivative means, but I know you're being stupid! It's the perfect phrase!" He spat viciously, continuing over my weakly formulated reply( "No, you're stupid!"): "You make yourself miserable just for the sake of his happiness! And then you lean on me, and I think you actually feel the same way about me that I have about you since you were a first year?! You want to know what was painful? Deluding myself that you cared-"

"So you want me to fake it?" I whipped my head around and sat up in bed, jarring my ankle a little. "To say: 'Of course I love you Oliver!' when it isn't true? You're one of my best friends…but I don't think-"

"Exactly, you don't think! Think! Just for a moment, think how it could be between us." I opened and closed my mouth rapidly, trying to form a comeback. I didn't like the way he said 'us'. There was an 'us' but we were friends, the kids who played Quidditch together, who teased and laughed and joked together. He launched into his tirade, not letting me answer. "You've never tried to think of anyone but him, have you? Just think of it, Fin!"

"But-I-" I was going to start crying again. This Yule ball stuff was also bollocks. Life was rubbish. Why didn't I just say yes? Why couldn't I say yes? This was Oliver Wood! I mean…Bloody hell! He was begging me, trapped inside the infirmary for the night with me; and I was flatly refusing him. Fred and George were right: I would have made a great Slytherin.

"Are you crying? Oh…no, Findabhair? Please? I'm a right foul git-" His hand was on my cheek again and he was brushing away the tears a little roughly from my cheeks. I lunged and wrapped my arms around his neck, sobbing quietly into his shoulder.

"Stop blaming yourself!" I sniffled, thumping him on the back with my fist just to get him to stop calling himself a git.

"But it's my fault-"

"I changed my mind." I said abruptly, shutting him up.

"What? But you just said-"

"Forget what I said!" I snapped, gripping his shoulders. "Let's back up and forget the circumstances, alright? Just…ask me out." I muttered wildly, my heart jumping in my chest.

"What?"

"Just go for it…if you still want to." He let me go so I was sitting up in bed and sank down onto one knee. I snorted, unable to help myself.

"Why are you snorting?" He demanded, looking around to see if there was something funny behind him that had made me laugh.

"Well…it's just, so goofy, you know? Like you're trying to propose or something…" He glared at me and stood up so he loomed over me, rolling his eyes.

"Is speech enough or would you like it in writing?" He muttered snarkily, "Or maybe in soliloquy? Or a sonnet-"

"Just shut up and ask me out, Oliver. Besides, you don't even know what a sonnet is." I groaned, trying to hide the tears behind a casual smile. _Cedric knows what a sonnet is._ A nasty little voice in my head reminded me.

"Alright…" He cleared his throat and stared at me blankly, looking anxious.

"Oliver?" I prompted, frowning. "Are you-"

"Don't talk!" He blurted, Adam's apple bobbing up and down in his nervousness. "Findabhair O'Brien-" He made a blurred mumbling that sounded vaguely like 'wazgowime?'.

"Good enough." I shrugged, beaming at him. "Okay, Oliver, sure."

"Okay?! It was just 'okay'?" He looked confused, like he'd been expecting another type of reaction.

"Okay means yes in English, Oliver." I rolled my eyes and lay back against the pillow.

"Well," He gasped breathlessly, a bemused expression on his face. "Aren't you supposed to…I dunno, leap up and scream or something?"

"Oliver, it's quarter to two, I have a twisted ankle and sore throat, and you want me to jump up and scream? Next time you get conked in the head by a bludger, get it checked. I really hope this isn't going to be the pattern for our relationship, because that kind of demanding attitude is why people-" But he shut me up with a kiss, and this time I let him have a good one. Hey, it was only my second real kiss ever, I may as well start enjoying them. I was so tired, that if I shut my eyes I could almost imagine it was Cedric-

"Whoa," He pulled back sharply and scanned my face, eyes wide with surprise. "You just kissed me back!"

"What?" Oops, I hadn't realized the thought I put into my Cedric fantasies these days. "Is that bad?"

"No, it was incredible!" He said a little loudly, grinning at me.

"Shush! You great prat, you'll wake Madam Pomfrey!" I tried to quiet him as he opened his mouth to compliment my kissing skills by muffling it with another quick kiss.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Manic-Depressive Authors Note: **_So, if you're out there and reading this, I'm extremely grateful! I love writing this and if it's entertaining, all the better. However, you don't get something for nothing. I love writing and Harry Potter(obviously), which is why I write stories like SCK and Disenchanted(If you haven't read this one, check it out!). But without any feedback, there's no point in me continuing these two. From now on, I need at least two more than one sentence reviews or it's just not worth it. Review chaps you've already read. It's really disappointing to write something and then get no feedback. I'm sorry I haven't to give an ultimatum like this and I'm not doing so to be obnoxious, it's just I have college classes and stuff to write for those as well so it's a lot. Again, I'm sorry! And to all of you who have reviewed, I'm sorry if I haven't gotten back to you and thanks so much!_

And so, I was discharged from the hospital wing hand in hand with Oliver Wood the next morning. Frankly, I would rather have drank/chewed down another gallon of what I was almost certain was skrewt potion then hold Oliver's hand while we walked through the hallways. Val had brought my clothes down to me that morning: a pair of tight, flared jeans and my Holly-head Harpies tank-top. The look she gave me was unmistakable, the oh-god-what-have-you-done look. Sadly, the thin fabrics were no match for the drafty halls. Which meant(to my great chagrin) I had to huddle so close to Oliver I was practically glued to his side. Plus, everyone was just getting up in time for a really late breakfast(everybody seemed to sleep in on Boxing Day), their bleary eyed gaze coming to rest upon our entwined fingers. Nothing like a fresh romance to wake one up in the morning.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat." Oliver said eagerly, dragging me towards the great hall. I opened my mouth to refuse when I remembered something vital. Boxing Day! It was the day all the Hufflepuff's snuck down to the kitchen's to enjoy a feast. Cedric always dragged me down there on those mornings and we hung out. I was practically part of Hufflepuff house then. But that was before he'd gotten a girlfriend…and before I'd gotten a boyfriend. Urrgh. Why was it so painful to think those words?

"Fin? Are you alright?" Oliver asked, the blotchy pink flush over his pale skin standing out in the blueish winter light. He was so happy.

"Well, yeah…I just-" Somebody called my name and I turned to see Ernie running towards me, beaming. Ernie, running? "What's wrong, Ern?" I asked, twisting out of Oliver's grasp.

"Nothing, I just didn't want you to miss all the fun. Come on, Fin. Let's go!" He grabbed my arm and started to tow me in the direction of the stairs. Suddenly, a hand clamped over my other arm, gripping it tightly at the elbow.

"What's up?" Oliver asked, grinning. He probably didn't realize he was holding my arm in a death grip. Keeper reflex.

"What business is it of yours, Wood?" Ernie asked warily, giving my arm an experimental tug. I didn't even so much as budge. Ernie was a bookworm, his most developed muscle was probably his brain. Which wasn't even a muscle, making his chances less than slim of being able to drag me away. Oliver was a Keeper, and this was a tug-of-war match Ernie definitely couldn't win.

"It's all my business, Macmillan." Oliver's teeth clenched but he kept his dangerous smile.

"Since when is Findabhair you're business?" Ernie snapped, glaring at him and tugging me again.

"Since we started dating, Ernie." I grumbled, twisting my hand around and clawing Oliver's wrist. Ernie needed no further urging and dropped my arm like he'd been burned, staring at me aghast. "Now, before you two start a pissing contest," I spat, ignoring their surprised looks. I didn't swear a lot, and when I did, things were truly wrong. "Let's explain this to one another: Oliver, you're getting in the way of a Boxing Day tradition which I've attended every year for five years. Ernie, shut your mouth before something flies in there and gets lost." He clamped his mouth shut.

"What kind of tradition?" Oliver asked, smiling down at me in a tolerant boyfriend way. I hated that smile, and hated myself even more for being the object of it.

"A Hufflepuff tradition, strictly for Hufflepuff's. Why don't you go back to your house and enjoy your own kind of tradition? Like sitting in front of the fire and cheering on your fake champion?" Ernie snapped defensively.

"Last time I checked, Fin was a Ravenclaw. So it's not strictly for Hufflepuff's then, is it?" Oliver had stopped smiling and his fists were clenched. "I suppose your _real _champion was chivalrous enough to invite his girlfriend, was he? I'm sure he wont mind if Fin invites someone."

"Who says I'm inviting you? And besides, it's not my call, I'm not a Hufflepuff." Oliver was being an arse, and this was a side of him I'd never seen. Ernie turned towards me with a look of disgust.

"I'm making it your call. Invite him if you want." Ernie turned his back on me and crossed his arms. I didn't like this mean, petty attitude they were both showing. Then, a realization hit me so hard it made my heart try and rip itself from my chest.

"Why didn't Ced come and ask me himself?" I turned to Ernie, who shrank away from me with a guilty look. "Ern? Answer me."

"He's…he was…he asked me to come get you." Ernie muttered, his freckled face turning bright red.

"Because of Cho?" My voice grew bitter as I realized. Oliver muttered something under his breath and tried to grip my arm to steer me away.

"Well, yes and no. Cho didn't want you-" Ernie began.

"Well, then. Let's do this." I said briskly, trying to quell the seething anger in my stomach. "Lead the way, Ernie."

We managed to sneak into the kitchen no problem, though that didn't stop Ernie from leaping about like a frightened mouse at every tiny sound. It took me a while to realize that he didn't trust Oliver, and probably felt intimidated by him.

"I'm back!!" Ernie announced happily as we entered the kitchens, amid the shouts and cheers of the rest of the Hufflepuff's. Susan leapt forward with a squeal and crushed Ernie to her chest in a tight embrace. Justin Finch-Fletchley turned and his face lit up.

"Hey, Fin! How are you-" The words died in his throat as he saw Oliver. Alex and Elie, who'd been chugging butterbeer in the corner stared at me like I had just lead a vampire into their midst. No, they probably wouldn't have minded the vampire as much. In fact, knowing them as I did, they would have come up and asked for his autograph in blood. Knowing the Hufflepuff/Gryffindor animosity as I did, I knew they'd prefer to rip out Oliver's throat themselves.

"Hey, guys." Oliver slid his arm around my shoulder and sneered at them. I smiled uncomfortably and waved as the Hufflepuff's all turned to stare.

"Stop being such an arse." I snapped out of the corner of my mouth, keeping my smile plastered in place. Alex made no attempt to veil his hatred and glared at Oliver.

"What are you all staring at? This is supposed to be a party, isn't it?" Ernie cried, rousing them back into their merriment. A few still remained stonily silent and glared at Oliver, making no effort to hide their loathing.

"Come on," Ernie muttered darkly, dragging me along through the crowd. He glared at Oliver and gestured for him to follow. I wove through the rabble of Hufflepuff's and tried not to trip over any House-elves as I followed Ernie. We made our way into a more open room where some of the more elite Hufflpuffian were crowded around Cedric and Cho. The sight of Ced made my heart pound unevenly. Somehow, I'd been so much braver in the hallway; but now that I was facing him, hand in hand with Oliver Wood…well, I felt like I was going to be sick. It took him a moment to see me, but when he did, his face lit up.

"Findabhair! Ernie did find you! Here, move over." He pushed a couple people aside and swept me into a hug. "Ow." I yelped half-heartedly and he held me out so he could see my face, still beaming.

"How's your ankle after-" But he'd just spotted Oliver, who had(Bless his little cotton socks.) released my hand and stood behind me with a resentful look on his face. Cedric's expression hardened and he gritted his teeth. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Fin invited me." Oliver stepped up and slid an arm around my waist. I saw Ced visibly stiffen as he glared at the arm like it was a tentacle. I'd rarely seen Cedric angry, it just wasn't in his nature to be short-tempered. But once he did get angry, he was furious. The intense look he got when struggling to repress a strong emotion came to his face readily and easily as Oliver inclined his head to place a kiss on my forehead. "Since we're-"

"Dating." I said the dreaded word and stared at my feet. Oh, Please. Just please let me melt into the ground and disappear.

"You're-" Ced seemed to have trouble uttering the word, like he'd swallowed a ton-tongue toffee and puking pastille all in one gulp. What made it worse is that he was looking at me like I'd just snogged Draco Malfoy . "No, you cant be-"

"Oh! How wonderful!" Cho lunged forward and tried to pull me into a fake hug. I jerked back and ducked under her arm, glaring at her smiling face. I was done trying to act like I liked her. I would no longer fake it. Her slanty little eyes were crinkled at the corners with joy. But there were some people I had to lie to, so I wouldn't hurt them.

"Yeah, he asked me last night." I laughed and turned to peck him on the cheek. The words burned my throat like an acid. _Liar._ My conscience accused and I felt my throat tighten. Ced stared at me for a fraction of a second, mystified. I was conscious of his stare, but I was a coward. I couldn't meet the silver hazel eyes I loved without throwing myself into his arms and sobbing. Then, quicker then I would have thought possible, Cedric had plastered a smile on his face.

"Congratulations, Oliver." He beamed at Wood's expression of surprise. Then he looked at me, sliding an arm around Cho. The smile stayed, but something seemed to shift in his expression. His mouth may have been smiling, but his eyes weren't. But maybe I was deluding myself, wishful thinking.

"I'm glad you've finally found a boy who takes your fancy." It didn't seem like something Ced would say, too formal. But then again, so much had changed. His new 'friends', Cho. Maybe it was normal for him now.

"And I'm glad you've finally found a girl who's worthy of your attentions." Some part of my brain made my mouth move to speak the lie. I think I forced the appropriate amount of happy emotion into the awkward sentence. Cedric wasn't fooled, though, I saw him wince before I forced myself to stare at his feet. Ernie handed me a butterbeer and I wrapped my fingers around it and made myself smile, ignoring the most exquisite kind of anguish I'd ever felt. "Cheers."

"Cheers!" Everyone else chorused as Cedric and I clinked our bottle's together. Our eyes were blank as our mouths smiled at one another. It was something akin to stabbing a knife deep into my own heart and then laughing as the blood spilled between clasped fingers. I brought my bottle up to my mouth and threw back my head and took a giant swig. I couldn't gulp it down fast enough. I wanted to drown myself in it, drown out everything else. But it's sweet warmth wasn't enough to chase away the dull, dead feeling in my chest. Boy, I was screwed up.

It just got worse and worse as the miserable celebration progressed. I forced myself to make polite conversation with the Hufflepuff's, who kept glaring at Oliver. In the years before this one, the celebration had been wild. They'd gone absolutely crazy with it, and the house-elves had actually enjoyed it, too. Now it was full of polite cordiality. It was a load of dragon dung. Cho had brought along Marietta, Elise and Laurie; her harpies from hell. They monopolized the attention of the crowd, forcing everyone to obey their sense of decorum. At least the house-elves hadn't let Cho decorate the kitchen's pink.

"Hey!" Elise snatched my arm and I nearly dropped what must have been my fifteenth butterbeer.

"Oh," I sighed wearily, ready to endure whatever kind of hell she wanted to drag me through now. "How are you, Elise?"

"I just wanted to tell you both how adorable you look," She gushed, her plastic smile full of mean-spirited glee. "I mean, you're really perfect for each other." She emphasized, still clutching my arm in her talons. "Once we get back to the common room, you'll have to tell me all about it."

"Okay." I agreed weakly, taking another couple of gulps of butterbeer and finishing the bottle. I looked around, I needed to find more. "Excuse me." I told her, and dragged Oliver over to the counter where they'd placed the butterbeer. I reached out to take another bottle and he grabbed my wrist.

"Fin, how many of those have you had?" He asked me, the expression on his face full of alarm. "You're going to drink yourself into a butterbeer coma."

"Don't be stupid, this stuff isn't that strong." I muttered, jerking my arm away and taking another bottle.

"Yeah, but I know you. You drink a pint of Butterbeer and you've had too much." He rolled his eyes. "You're going to become an addict." I ignored him and popped the cap, taking a huge gulp. Why wasn't it helping?!

"Look, at least share that one with me." I let him take it from my hand and raise it to his lips.

"Swapping spit?" Alex called callously and someone 'awed' from across the room. I groaned and clutched my head. Oliver was right, of course. I had way too much butterbeer in my system. My ears rang and my head felt funny. But, at the same time, it was great. I could forget that deeper, more cognizant part of my mind that demanded Cedric. It wasn't happiness, but it wasn't anguish either.

"Here, Fin! A Fizzing Whisbee, pumpkin fizz, Butterbeer, fire whiskey cocktail!" Susan Bones held out another drink to me. Her expression was sympathetic under the weak pretense of a grin.

"I don't think-" Oliver reached for the drink as I snatched it off the platter.

"No! I'm fine! I'll have it!" And I tipped my head back and drank it down. The flavors conflicted in my mouth, bubbling like they were carbonated and creamy with pumpkin fizz and then spicy and hot with the fire whiskey. The dizziness of a whisbee combined with all the fizzing and calming butterbeer made me stumble slightly. As I swallowed the last mouthful I tasted the thick, drowsy purple flavor of a sleeping draught. Thank you, Susan. Oliver held my arms, saying something in my ear. Oh, who cared? Really. I didn't.

My head drooped and I nearly fell forward to the ground. Oliver caught me under the elbows and I started to giggle. It was so _funny_. All this lying, this falseness. It was hysterical, did they even know how hilarious they were? Oliver was saying something again but I just wasn't listening. It was a goofy paradox, that I could laugh so hard tears started to roll down my cheeks.

Oliver, bless him, dragged me out of there before I could make a fool of myself(and before anyone could tell Ced that I was finally losing it.). I was still laughing as he carried me up the stairs to the Ravenclaw common room. The buzz was starting to wear off, but the endorphins from all the laughter felt good. And I was terrified that if I stopped laughing, I would start crying. He set me on my feet and I gasped, clutching his shoulders and beaming at him.

"Thanks…" I gasped between fits of giggles, going on my tiptoe's to kiss him. It felt good, because in this inebriated state of mind, I could kind of fudge the details a little bit and imagine it was Cedric. Kissing Oliver before had just been kissing, this was all out _snogging. _His lips were eager on mine and I deepened the kiss, ignoring all ethical considerations. He tried to pull away then, suddenly not so eager. It was definitely taking every once of his strength not to keep kissing me in the corridor, that was obvious.

"No," He groaned and tried to pull his head back, succeeding. "You're not even fully conscious."

"I didn't have too much drink to butterbeer!" I exclaimed, eager to kiss him again. He easily restrained me and I sighed, slumping back against the again. This made me laugh.

"You'll be okay?" I snorted at Oliver's concern and slapped him playfully in the shoulder.

"I'm fine, Olive. Don't worry." I hiccupped, tweaking the tip of his nose. I turned and grabbed the door knocker and slammed it down. The beak of the eagle opened and uttered it's question:

"Name for me a feeling in which one rejoices at the same time they grieve?" It asked. I wondered vaguely if the knocker could read minds.

"Love." I laughed and the door swung open for me. Irony at it's best.

~*~

I dragged myself up to my room and shoved the door open, collapsing on my bed. I let my feelings go then, sucking in huge hiccupping breaths and sobbing into my pillow case. I pressed my face into the pillow to muffle my scream and howled desperately, snatching my wand off the bedside table and pointed it at my throat.

"_Muffliato_." I croaked, then let out another scream which only I could hear. I sounded like I was dieing. Maybe there was a tiny part of me that was dieing, deep inside. This deplorable little part of me that loved Cedric in that romantic, helpless way…she had to go. She was screaming and putting up a huge fight, but she was dieing. I was the one wielding the knife, too. I had to realize that my league and Ced's were vastly different and the sphere's of our relationships did not touch.

The potion must have finally taken effect after that, because the next moment, I was curled on my side in a ball, staring out the window. My throat ached and my mouth felt dry. Life wasn't fair. I punched my pillow and groaned. There was a loud pounding then that made me jump and I heard Jedda's voice from the stairwell.

"Findabhair!? DINNER!"

"Bugger off," I muttered softly under my breath, yanking the covers over my head.

"Dinner!" She shouted again, running up the stairs.

"I'm not hungry!" I croaked, coughing hard. Her steps paused outside the door and she opened it and walked inside.

"You sound like crap." She said quietly, more quietly then Jedda ever said anything. She reached out to touch my shoulder and I shrugged away.

"I'm sick," I gasped. "It's okay, Jedda, just a cold."

"You want me to smuggle anything up here for you?" She asked.

"Fine." I sniffled, coughing again. "Just need some sleep."

"Well…okay, then. Goodnight." She got up and left.

"Goodnight, Jedda." I breathed softly, letting Susan's sleeping draught drag me down into an uneasy slumber.

"Did she stun herself to sleep again?" Valerie's anxious voice muttered from somewhere to my left. I heard someone rolling out their blanket and sighing.

"She looked dead when I came in to check on her before dinner." Jedda murmured, her voice slightly muffled.

"She can't keep doing this to herself, I'm really worried…" Val's voice trailed off and then something slammed down hard on her bedspread. "Cedric Diggory is such an insensitive _arse_!!"

"Shush, you'll wake her up." Danica said calmly from the window-seat.

"She needs to wake up! Why can't everyone just wake up!?" Val snapped at her angrily and I heard her flop down onto her bed below me in defeat.

"It's too painful to wake up for some people, the only way they stay sane is to sleep." Danica climbed into the hammock she'd strung up from the corner of one bed to the window ledge.

"Fin is not insane, unlike some people who believe in 'babgils'. For God's sake, your as bad as Loony-"

"Val, just leave her alone." I sighed, curling tighter into a ball on the top bunk.

"Fin?!" Jedda and Val gasped in surprise.

"I told you." Danica spoke softly from her hammock and rolled over to face the glass dome ceiling.

"Can one of you stun me this time?" I asked bitterly, pulling my wand out from under my pillow and setting it on the shelf beside my bed. How pathetic I was, how selfish.

"It's bad for you, it's not actually sleep." Valerie stood up and gripped the edge of my bed, peering at my tear streaked face. "It's like your hyper-alert with your eyes closed-"

"I'll do it to myself then, shall I?" I took my wand and pressed it to my forehead, mentally preparing myself for the instant blackout. It was always a shock, like getting punched in the stomach. Valerie sighed and pulled out her wand, glaring at me as she pressed the tip of it to my chest.

"Thanks." I whispered.

"Hey! Wait a second, Fred and George gave me something to give to you, so you could test it for them! It comes with a note." Jedda said quickly, scrambling out of bed to give me what looked like a butterbeer bottle full of a swirling, pearlescent pale blue potion.

"What is that?" I asked, actually interested despite my depression.

"Cool! Drink it! Chug, chug, chug!" Valerie said, trying to take it from my grasp. That sounded more like her normal self.

"Right." I snorted and pushed her head back with the palm of my hand.

"They sent you a note, too. I tried to open it, but it bit me." Jedda said guiltily, handing me the folded bit of parchment. Along the creases there were jagged cutouts which clenched into a fang-like position as it traded hands. As soon as I tried to open it, however, it popped open peacefully and I read the rough handwriting.

_Hey Fin! Got another product for you to try(don't worry, we tested it on each other first and we're still okay!) Wait to use it until your in a boring class and don't you __**dare**__ think about dumping it down the sink. _

_Thanks~ F. & G._

_P.S. Don't bother asking what it is, we won't tell you._

"Okay, you can stun me now." I folded up the note and tucked the bottle into the cupboard slotted into the wall at the head of my loft bed. I lay back against the pillows and shut my eyes. "Nigh-"

"_Stupefy._"


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** _I'm sorry for the long wait, guys!! Here it is, I hope you'll enjoy it and dont forget to review. Just tell me specific stuff, what you liked, didn't like...anything! Thanks so much!!_

"What do you call this?!" Professor Sinistra glared down at me with an expression of utter fury on her features. She shook a piece of parchment in my face and I stared at her calmly as she slapped it down on my desk. The movement made me jump a little but I remained otherwise deadpan.

"Unfinished." I said calmly, looking over my report on the constellations of the southern hemisphere complacently. I'd passed out after finishing the Lupus constellation, a fact made all the more obvious by the huge inky splotches around the margins made by my fingertips. The class was staring at me with looks of shock on their faces. I was a good little O-student Ravenclaw and here I was getting shouted at.

"Would you like to know what I call it?" She raged, sticking one of her long, claw-like fingers under my nose. "I call it laziness! Pure and utter laziness! You are a capable student but your marks in this class do not express your full potential-" Etc. Blah, Blah, Blah. My eyes strayed to the bottle Fred and George had given me. It was sticking out of my bag and I wanted badly just to reach out and drink it, whatever it was. Resisting the urge I sighed and listened to her rant about responsibility until class ended.

"I can't believe Sinistra lit into you like that!" Oliver exclaimed as he half-dragged me down the corridor toward History of Magic with Binns. His fingers were so tightly twined with mine I'd have had to get a severing charm to get him to release me. I shook my hand in irritation before realizing what I was doing, and how ineffectual the gesture was. Oliver didn't even notice.

"It was bound to happen, Oliver. That was the same report I was supposed to do weeks ago and I didn't start it until yesterday-" We rounded the corner and my heart came to a grinding halt. Cedric and Cho were very busy, snogging in the alcove across from Binn's classroom. They broke apart hastily and I looked away, swallowing the bitter taste in my mouth. It burned all the way down and I stared at the floor as I rushed into my class, waving vaguely in their direction.

"Hi, guys." I squeaked and hurried to take a seat in the back, close to the window. Oliver took the seat beside me and tried to look interested in the surface of his desk so he wouldn't have to witness my tears. My fingers fumbled for the bottle and I popped off the cap before he could object and took a huge mouthful. The tangy flavor made my mouth tingle and I swallowed before taking another huge gulp. Sighing, I replaced the cap and jammed the bottle back into my bag. I relaxed and swallowed it slowly this time so I wouldn't choke. I sat up straight and waited for whatever the potion was to start working. Kids filed in to the classroom wearily and I watched them an odd feeling at the back of my mind. Like buzzing, or falling asleep….

I turned the page of my book, studying the material closely. The bright sunlight cast it's glare across the weathered pages of my copy of Advanced Potions Vol. 7, warming my skin. I was working on an assignment for Snape, copying down some notes from the book. _The bezoar acts as an antidote for most poisons, rendering the patient almost instantly cured. Dragon's blood…._Pointless, really. Why would I take down notes from a book, it was a waste of time. Realizing this, I frowned and shut the book; looking out over the calm, sparkling surface of the Black Lake. Sunny days like this were so rare, so blessed in a way that few other days could be. I buried my toes in the warm sand and sighed happily.

Footsteps echoed in the woods behind me and I sighed, taking a deep, steady breath. The crunching of underbrush and twigs echoed closer and then the sound of something landing heavily in the sand. I turned my head and looked up at the approaching figure.

"Hey, Cedric!" I cried, sitting up and eagerly shuffling over to make room for him. He sat down beside me and smiled, folding his legs sinuously underneath him.

"Hi, Fin." He slid an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close, ruffling my hair. I savored the closeness of it while I could. He looked up and the robin's egg blue sky and its fluffy clouds were reflected in his hazel eyes. "Nice day," He looked down at me and grinned. "Isn't it?"

He was so close I could smell the scent coming off his skin, intoxicating and comforting. He held my gaze and I was trapped, staring back into his eyes. My heart fluttered as he leaned in towards me, his expression suddenly very serious. My gaze shifted to his lips, he was so close to me I stopped breathing. I could stare at his face forever and never lose interest even for a moment.

"It's a great day." I blurted, craning my neck back against the arm that was wrapped around my shoulders and holding me tightly to his side. Without seeming to use any effort at all, he pulled me into his lap.

"What about Cho-" He smothered my words with a passionate kiss that made me dizzy. I could feel the warm sand on my back, the feeling of his hands running down to my hips and my fingers sliding up under his shirt and-

"I love you…I really love you, Fin." He whispered, his warm lips moving against my ear. I shuddered and gasped, burying my face between his shoulder and neck. Those words were what I craved, the force and sincerity with which they were delivered. Don't get me wrong, the carnality of it was marvelous too. But it was that feeling, of being loved so completely. He tipped my head back and his lips moved to my neck. "I love you so much-"

A bell rang distantly in the back of my head and I jerked in my seat, eyes snapping open. Oliver's face was inches from mine and he was shaking me as though I was waking up from a coma. What had happened? There was a bittersweet after-taste in the back of my throat and I stared at him, blinking stupidly.

"You've been out like a light the entire period! Come on, before Binns gets over here…" He dragged me out of my seat and I stumbled and fell into the desk beside mine, legs tangled in the chair behind me. Now that the hallucination or whatever it was that potion had induced was gone, I wanted it back. Badly.

"Lemmesgobacabed." I grumbled. The dream had been so vivid and sweet I just wanted to cry.

"Fred!" Oliver's voice was so low it was practically a growl as I staggered to my feet and clutched my spinning head. I leaned heavily against Oliver and he dragged me out the door and into the teeming corridor towards the Great Hall for lunch.

"Uh oh…" George was shooting me a worried look, my bag slung over his shoulder carelessly.

"Umokdonerry." I mumbled, glad of Oliver's support. My hands were cold and my teeth chattered and without really thinking about anything but a way to warm them up, I shoved one of them under Oliver's collar. He jumped and swore, grabbing my other hand in his.

"Bloody hell, Findabhair! You're freezing…come here." He stepped back and pulled me against his chest and for once I was more then eager to let him pull me into his warm embrace.

"What did you do to her?!" Oliver hissed, glaring at the twins.

"Nuttiniwasgreatiluvedit." I tried to tell them through my shaking lips. I couldn't feel my legs and without Oliver to keep me up I would have flopped over like I was jelly legs jinxed.

"We've never tried it on a girl before and she agreed to-"

"To what?! She has plenty of emotional intricacies to deal with without you giving her potions that-"

"Emotional intricacies? What are you? A Ravenclaw?" Fred snorted, giving him a sidelong look.

"E-e-e-" I tried to speak, trembling.

"_Enervate._" George said and I felt a little more feeling return to my limbs. I rubbed my arms and shook my head, releasing Oliver.

"No, actually 'eat'. But thanks!" I hugged Fred around the neck clumsily, dragging him down so that he stumbled a little in order to keep me on my feet.

"I love that stuff!" I exclaimed as we walked towards the Great Hall. I was still tripping a little, my legs as coordinated as a newborn foal's.

"The stuff that turns you into a human ice cube for an entire class…oh, sure, you love it!" Oliver said grumpily but kept his hands up, ready to catch me if I fell.

"What was it?" I giggled, starting to list a little to the left before Fred pushed me back on course.

"Daydream charm." He announced proudly as Oliver reached out and caught my arm, preventing me from staggering off the top step of the stairs.

"Put a parental control or something on that stuff…or an age limit." I giggled before really thinking about what I was saying. The three boys took one look at me and burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"You daydreamed about that?!" Oliver gasped through his laughter, supporting me with an arm. I pushed away and stumbled into the wall, angry with him.

"Like you don't daydream about that stuff all the time." I growled angrily. "Besides, it wasn't that _that_! It was a little that."

"You don't know the half of it!" Fred chortled, grinning at Oliver. "You're boyfriend there was begging us for this stuff, and the dreams used to be a lot longer, trust me. We all know who he was dreaming about-"

"Shut up, Fred." Oliver groaned.

"So…who was the other person in this daydream?" Fred nudged me, grinning.

"None of your business." I replied, tripping down the hallway.

"If you don't tell, I'll assume it was me." He pressed, grinning and cackling with George. I groaned and leaned against Oliver, allowing him to grab my hand in his death grip again. He looked tense, guessing the name I refused to say.

"Oliver." I answered, surprising myself. "It was about Oliver."

"It was?" He was so startled he stepped back to look at me and I fell over without his shoulder to lean on. "Oh, sorry!" He reached down and set me back on my feet.

"Ow!" I gasped, staggering into the Great Hall with the three of them. Oliver was looking smug, too smug, as he helped me into the Hall.

"Look, Olive. I'm fine." I said firmly, trying to distance myself from him. I could see Ced sneaking furtive looks our way, a disapproving expression on his face. Oliver spun me around and placed a quick peck on my lips, something he insisted on doing every time we parted for more then a class period. It irritated me.

"Right…Goodbye, Oliver. I'm going far, far, far across the Hall. Do you think you can handle that?" I muttered snarkily and turned away, tripping only once in the time it took me to traverse the twenty feet between the Gryffindor tables and Ravenclaw's.

I plunked down on the bench between Anastasia and Valerie, ignoring Jedda's snickers as I scooped some chicken parmesan and salad onto my plate. I set the tongs down a little harder then necessary and stabbed the chicken breast, ripping away a piece and shoving it sideways in my mouth.

"So…" Val whistled, toying with the food on her plate. Avoidance tactics?

"So what?" I asked nonchalantly, trying to reign in the unconscious tension that was building.

"So…" She began again, chopping off a small bite of ravioli with the side of her fork and stabbing it. I rolled my eyes and picked up my cup of pumpkin juice and tried to take a sip, missing my mouth by about three inches and nearly slopping it down myself.

"Nice." Jedda commented, looking up briefly from her copy of '_Vampires, Werewolves and other Transmutable Magical Race's.'_

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing. What did you want to say?" I muttered distractedly and focused intently on bringing the goblet to my mouth for a swallow.

"Uh…"

"Spit it out!" I snapped, attacking my chicken with a renewed ferocity. Jedda jerked her arm away from where it lay on the table, perilously close to the forks trajectory.

"Things aren't going well with Olive, are they?" Valerie asked quickly, shoving the pasta in her mouth.

"No! They're not! They bloody, bollocks, bugger-" I spat viciously, swallowing a large chunk of chicken and taking all my fury out on the meal. "He's…I don't…mmmffffllluuumm!!" I grumbled through my mouthful.

"You don't like him." Val translated easily, well-accustomed to interpreting my incoherent mumbles.

"Nummffle!" I shook my head and swallowed. "I do like him."

"Just not in that way." She nodded, finishing the words I couldn't say around a mouthful of mash potatoes.

"Rmmffle." I agreed.

"I don't see why you don't just break up with him, then." Jedda snorted, taking a swig of pumpkin juice. "Why lie about the way you feel? Especially when he's so besotted with you, better to make it a clean break."

"Because it's Olive we're talking about here." Valerie answered her, plucking a real olive from the salad bowl. "Have you ever tried to cut an olive? Watch…" She sliced it in half with a butter knife. "See? It doesn't work. No clean break. It's impossible."

Jedda just stared at her for a moment before nodding in a patronizing sort of way. "Have you been reading the Quibbler?"

"No! Well, yeah…but just for the ads…anyway, that's besides the point!" Val argued. "The point is-"

"The knife would have to be sharp," Luna interrupted, stirring something into her tea. "To make a clean cut, she would have to be very, very cruel."

Very, very cruel. The idea of anybody causing kind Oliver pain was unbearable. I'd rather slog through the overprotective, cloyingly sentimental, touchy-feely rubbish then endure a break-up. Also, I didn't want him to stop being my friend. I was scared that if I shoved him away, I'd really lose him. I'd lose his friendship, the same kind of friendship that had kept me going…the kind of friendship where I could be a total loser, drop the quaffle a thousand times and he would still catch it for me.

"Well…forget it! The second tasks in a few weeks and…Fin? Oh right, crap, sorry." Jedda tried to apologize, but the damage was done. The Second Task. I suddenly felt like I was going to be violently ill. I covered my mouth with a hand and groaned, pushing my plate away and trying to quell the nausea.

"Fin! Jeez, anyone would think it was you going up against merlin-knows-what and not Cedric. He'll be fine, no need to make yourself sick over it." Val told me, nudging my plate back towards me. I shook my head and moaned, how depressing.

It got to the point where I was counting down the days with fear and trepidation. It felt like waiting for a bomb to explode, ticking away seconds of Cedric's life. I hope he'd figured out his egg without my help, _someone _in the group of prats he hung out with these days had to be intelligent. After a while, I started obsessing about it to Valerie and Jedda, analyzing all the possibilities for the next task.

"Your this close to getting smacked upside the head." Jedda snapped at me one day, nearly tripping over Oliver. It was getting to the point where I could barely walk a straight line without running into one of them, the feeling of claustrophobia didn't help.

"You don't know what it's like!" I defended myself, glaring at her.

"Findabhair! Fin!" In a most ridiculous way, my heart leapt into my throat at the sound of his voice. There was a collective groan behind me as Cedric ran up to me, none-too-subtly shoving Oliver out of the way. His gorgeous eyes were shining as he looked down at me, a proud grin on his face. In a quick movement, he linked our arms.

"Cedric," I hoped he couldn't hear the relief in my voice. "What is it?"

"I just tipped Harry off about his egg." He whispered in my ear, then leaned back to smile cheekily.

"That's…good. You didn't trick him or anything, did you, Ced?" Why was he grinning like the Cheshire cat?

"No, of course not! But I gave him a clever hint, I didn't actually tell him what it was." He finished, a little put out that I wasn't showing more enthusiasm.

"You dolt!" Jedda laughed suddenly. "Didn't he just come up and blurt 'dragons' to you? And you just gave him a hint? What a-"

"Jedda!" I snarled, then looked at Cedric's forlorn expression. "What kind of hint?"

"I told him to take a bath with his egg, mull things over in the hot water. I even gave him the password to the prefects bathroom. I suppose it sounded cleverer in my head." He muttered nervously, scowling at the floor. Good grief, dating Cho had taken a toll on his I.Q. I took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly nonetheless.

"Ced, it sounded fine to me. I'm sure he'll get the idea. After all, it wasn't like you had to tell him anything." My assurance was a lie, but still. How could his expression of contrite disappointment make me so desperate to make him happy? I wanted to hug him until he smiled again. I almost did too, before catching sight of Oliver's betrayed expression. I straightened a little and stared at the floor guiltily.

"But I did, Fin. It's the fair and honest thing to do." He said firmly, Hufflepuff personality coming back into play. I rolled my eyes and sighed. Sure, it _was_ honest and fair, but it wasn't playing the game intelligently. Damn fairness, I wanted Cedric to win.

"Hey, Ced!" Daryl Copen galumphed down the hallway to us, more of Cedric's popular 'friends' in tow. Cedric had just opened his mouth to return the greeting when Daryl dragged him into a headlock, jumping around like a lunatic. Still attached to Ced by the arm, I was nearly dragged off my feet. The rest of them elbowed and shoved our group out of the way, practically carrying Ced off.

"Hey!" Oliver snapped loudly and gave Arin Baxter a shove when he tripped and stumbled over me.

"Don't shove _me_, you cheating Gryffindor!" Arin called back, scrunching his feature's into what he thought was his most arrogant attractive expression.

"What did you call me?! Get back here and say that to my face-"

"Oh, calm down, Oliver!" I snatched a hold of his elbow, feeling like I'd foolishly tried to hold on to a bolting Hippogriff as he dragged me down the corridor. It took Val on his other elbow to slow him down enough for Arin and Daryl to get safely back to Cedric's entourage.

"Keep your shirt on. Please, god, don't take it off." Jedda groaned and covered her eyes at the thought.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Oliver snapped back at her, sounding hurt.

"Nothing." Valerie muttered, a guilty expression on her face.

"Well, you're all seven types of scrawny. But I'm sure Fin still loves you!" Fred mumbled, rolling his eyes. "And that really is all that matters to you at the moment, isn't it?"

There was an uncomfortably tense silence following his words. I stared and at my feet and took Oliver's hand, squeezing it reassuringly. He heaved a tremendous sigh, and that exhalation made me feel more guilty then any lecture Val, Jedda or the twins could have devised. I tugged him towards the grounds and he followed. Fred and George started to as well, but Jedda snagged the back of their robes and turned them around.

"Not now, bollocks for brains."

"Oh, right."

I lead Oliver out across the windswept hill above Hagrids, then down towards the lake. At the edge I turned and pulled him towards the woods. No longer confused, he followed me with a more purposeful stride. The willow tree we'd visited ever since first year was tucked away amid a little copse of birch, just out of sight of the school and giving a beautiful view of the lake. He sat at it's base and I curled up in his lap, laying my head against his shoulder.

"We're skipping History of Magic…" He murmured into my hair.

"Like Binns will care."

"But _why _are we skipping?"

"Just shut up and enjoy it, Oliver."

The reminder acted like a time-release poison, making me more and more frantic until the very night before the task. It was late and most of the younger students had kipped up to bed for the night. Val and Jedda had long since given up trying to drag me up to the dormitories so I could at least get an hours sleep. The entire endeavor would have been pointless, anyway. Sleep?! Cedric could drown tomorrow and I was supposed to sleep? No way! Instead, I was forcing myself to do an assignment for potions. Someone sat down at the table across from me and I looked up. Oh joy. Exactly what I needed on a night like this.

"Hello." Cho Chang said, her plastic grin in place.

"Bugger off. I'm not in the mood to chat, Chang." I said wearily, turning a page in my vol. six Advanced Potions. She laughed lightly, as though I'd just told the most marvelous joke.

"So…you and Cedric, you hang out often?" She asked leaning over the table and placing her head on her fist. I returned to my potions homework, scribbling down notes on parchment. Marietta made a hissing noise somewhere to my right when I didn't answer fast enough.

"Bless you," I told her lightly, ignoring her glare.

"She asked you something." Marietta snorted, crossing her arms.

"You really should get that checked, Mari. Some kind of nasal blockage." I retorted.

"You do pal around with him, though. I've seen you." Cho drew my attention back to her.

"Yeah, I guess. We live together." I tried to keep my tone casual, but a little bit of sarcasm leaked through into my voice. Cho's saccharine smile just got sweeter, slanted eyes twitching at the corners.

"He seems really fond of you…talks about you a lot. You aren't really sibilings, after all." She sniffed, her demeanor dangerously offhand. What was she getting at? I set my quill down and shifted slightly, so I could pull my wand from my bag and set it in my lap.

"Do you know what the lace-wing flies are used for in this potion?" I held the paper in her nose and grinned at her, returning the false smile. The grin dropped off her face like someone had smacked her.

"I want you to stay away from him, O'Brien. He's mine, and no one falls for your playful foster sister act." She snapped, voice full of vitriol. I whistled and leaned back in my seat, surveying the potions essay.

"Cedric falls for it," Luna Lovegood spoke up from her place on the window seat where she sat, staring up at the stars. Bless her. I laughed out loud at Cho's livid face, folding my parchment and gave her the benefit of a wry smile.

"She's got you there, Cho. Though it's not an act, you're just paranoid." I said vindictively, then lowered my voice to a whisper: "By the way, he's the one who comes looking for me."

"_Furnuncu-_" I dived under the table to avoid Marietta's curse and the common room was suddenly full of spells. It appeared that, in the heat of the moment, Marietta had missed and hit Terry Boot instead. Roger Davies, ready to put the fear of God into whoever attacked his Quidditch team, had fired a hex back and nailed her with it.

"Not again!" James Connery dove for the couch and squirmed underneath. The two factions of Ravenclaw house were divided and firing at each other in a wild free-for-all hexing match.

"Hey! STOP!!" I roared, too late as Marietta, under the influence of some sort of dancing curse, spilt ink all over my finished essay. I screamed in rage and whipped out my wand to fire every jinx, hex and curse I could competently perform at her.

"_Impedimenta!_" Cho's spell knocked me back into one of the chairs and I cracked my head. Well, at least she was faithful to her group of Harpies from Hell. I whipped my wand up at her and roared: "_Confringo!_ That's what they teach you in sixth year DADA, you little twit!"

She sailed back and smacked hard into the wall. I dodged another hex and threw myself to the ground, turning on Marietta, who by now had been hit by at least twelve consecutive hexes, spitefully 'Confunded' her. She fell back with a yelp as Terry, his face covered in sprouts from the Furnuculus curse, leapt over her prone body and smacked into Luna, who was making her way very calmly through the spell-carnage. Torn for a moment, I dashed over and kicked Marietta hard in the ribs before throwing myself behind another pillar. What can I say? I have the vengeful nature of a Slytherin. I stood up and ran to the door, only to have it open in my face.

"What happened?" Michael Corner was staring at us all in amazement. Cho, looking around for somebody to blame, pointed at me.

"She started it!"

"I did NOT! You hateful little snot!" I snarled back, advancing on her. "I'll have you in detention before you can say-"

"Go to hell!" She shrieked.

"Easy, girls." Roger put up a hand and looked over at Michael. "So?" He prompted.

"Oh, right. Yeah, Flitwick wants you." Michael said, looking at me with a slightly scared expression. "He says it's important. Go down to McGonagall's office, okay?"

"Oh," Why would Flitwick want me? And why this late? "Well, thanks. I guess."

With that, I brushed by him and rushed off to McGonagall's office. What on earth could possibly provoke them to send for me this late? Had I done something wrong? Had they found out Ced had helped Harry with his egg?

"O'Brien! There you are! You certainly took your time, didn't you?" McGonagall chastised me as I rushed into her office. There were several others cramped into the little room, their eyes on me as I entered. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley were huddled in the corner, whispering to themselves. A little girl with hair so pale blonde it was almost white gazed up at me with her strangely familiar, bright blue eyes. Flitwick looked up as I appeared, beaming.

"Well," He addressed us all as I went to stand by the tiny girl. "I suppose you're all wondering why you are here. It's my job to inform you that you have been chosen, and proven, to be the most treasured possession of each Triwizard Champion. Their task for tomorrow will be to retrieve you from the bottom of the lake-" While Flitwick was jabbering on, I tried to tell which hostage belonged to which champion. Granger would have belonged to Weasley, but he appeared to be a hostage as well(and he certainly wasn't a Triwizard Champion). Weasley could be easily matched with Potter, the little girl was obviously Fleur Delacour's most treasured, Hermione…she could only be Krum's. But that meant-

"Professor?" I interrupted, something I never usually did. "What if you don't think you're the Champion's most prized possession?"

"Hmm," Flitwick looked as though he'd been expecting me to say something like this. "You know, you really are an excellent student. But all this self-doubt-"

"But I'm not Cedric's most prized treasure," I interrupted again, not really sure why I was arguing the very thing that I so dearly wanted. "That must be Cho."

"Ms. Chang? Certainly not!" McGonagall interrupted briskly. "You are-indeed-Mr. Diggory's treasure. And for the benefit of all of you, if you too harbor doubt: You were handpicked by Professor Dumbledore himself."

"Then I have a bone to pick with Professor Dumbledore, because he's made a mistake." I replied sullenly, silently berating myself for being so stubborn. McGonagall looked aghast and opened her mouth to discipline me when she was interrupted by none other then the Headmaster himself, looking very calm.

"Ms. O'Brien, if you would." He asked, one silver eyebrow raised above his half moon spectacles. I stepped out of McGonagall's office and walked beside Dumbledore for a minute before he turned to me.

"Why are you so certain that you are not Mr. Diggory's hostage? Hmm?"

"I'm not pr-" That was a really stupid reason and I changed tact quickly. "It's obviously Cho, not me. Cho Chang."

"Knowing Cedric as I do," Dumbledore chuckled. "And as I'm certain you do to, I can assume he would save anyone from the bottom of the lake, no matter their relation to him. However, that does not make them his most treasured possession. What he would miss the most out of all his relations and friends and possessions is you." He stared down at me benevolently, blue eyes twinkling kindly behind his half-moon glasses. "There are many different kinds of love, Ms. O'Brien."

"Yes, but _she's_-" I persisted. I didn't want to be another kind of love, I wanted to be _that _kind of love.

"Known him for less than half a year, am I correct?" He countered.

"Cedric likes her. She's his girlfriend, he'd obviously prefer-"

"Perhaps if we were to make the hostage a veela? Would he be as eager to fetch her? Or perhaps his favorite Quidditch idol?" I could see where he was going with this, and it was squashing my argument. I decided to approach from another angle

"What makes me a better choice then Cho?" I asked him, my voice erring on the desperate side.

"Only Cedric knows the answer to that." Dumbledore chuckled. "Now, your going to be taken down to the bottom of the lake. I assure you there is no need to fear…the charm is perfectly harmless and will keep you unconscious until such a time as you surface. So, without further adieu-" I looked up for the first time, we'd circled back to McGonagall's office. "Ms. Granger?"

"I'm ready!" She said, blushing and stepping forward. Something grabbed me around the waist and I squeaked and looked down. Fleur Delacour's little sister gazed up at me with frightened eyes and I bent down and hugged her.

" I know your sister." I said, tapping her nose with a finger. She looked up at me and incomprehension blurred her features.

"Parle vous Francais?" She asked, clinging to me. You speak French?

"Une peu, oui." I tried, and watched the smile spread across her face. A little, yes. "Qui'sapelle, mon cherri?"

"Gabrielle. Vou?"

"Je m'apelle, Fin."

"Jai n'aime pas nager." She sniffled, looking up at me with fear. I don't like to swim.

"Non? Jai va-"

"Ms. O'Brien? Would you kindly-" Flitwick made a random gesture and I nodded.

"Alors, Gabrielle, est ce que aime la dort?" I distracted her, turning her tiny body so she was facing me as Dumbledore prepared to cast the spell.

"Oui!"

"Regarde moi-" But I needn't have asked as her tiny form fell into a deep and very peaceful sleep. I supported her frail body, picking her up and setting her on my hip.

"Would you mind terribly if you were the last one? Gabrielle seems so peaceful and I'm sure she'd prefer you to take her-" McGonagall was giving me a surprisingly tender look. Ugh. I wasn't a kid person, really. My maternal instincts erred on the side of nonexistent.

"Alright." I agreed grudgingly as I walked with Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Flitwick down the hall. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley lay on two stretchers floating beside each other as we walked out and across the grounds. I could see the merpeople, their fish tails creating tiny ripples as they waved them lazily through the water. I splashed forward to the nicest looking one, a female with a wide smile on her face. Trying to ignore the razor sharp teeth that poked out over her bottom lips and her vibrant, sulfur yellow eyes, I slowly lowered Gabrielle into her webbed, green hands. She made a screechy kind of laugh and with one powerful beat of her long fish tail, launched out of the water and dove backwards into it's depths.

"SHreeak, scatcha, shekr aijcei EEEaaaka Fin." Dumbledore was making some kind of horrible noise, the only word of which I could discern was my nickname. Screechy laughter erupted from every merthroat as he turned towards me. I could guess what they would find funny about my introduction: Fin. "Well, I wish you the best of luck, my dear. Now, if you could just relax-"

I relaxed and kept my eyes open as Dumbledore pointed his wand at me. The wild looking female with which Dumbledore had been conversing swam around me with that untamed, fey grin on her face. She eyed the shiny bangles on my wrist and laughed, flicking her tail so the scales sparkled. I felt myself sinking backwards as the charm took hold, my eyelids drooping. There was a soft splash and I felt water close in around me, listening to the ethereal yet fading voices as I drifted into unconsciousness:

"_Oh, little Fin come to the deep,_

_For a sweet and restful sleep!_

_Oh, little heart that beats with doubt,_

_Fear not, he shall come seek you out!_

_For what fish in the sea,_

_Can swim without thee?"_


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note asnd Dedication:**_ Thank you so much for your reviews! It's really appreciated and I hope this next chapter doesn't disappoint! Jedda, my lovely, from your two sentences, I have captured brilliance! Haha! Hope you like it!_

_"I am free of all prejudices, I hate everyone equally." **~ W. C. Fields**_

**Jedda Nyx Estrella~ Or, a chapter from the Darkside, 'cause we've got the biscuits, bitches.**

"This is so not comfortable." I groaned, lying with my legs in the hammock and the edge of the bed digging into my spine. I could have moved, but I was to tired. Lying down was lying down, regardless.

"We should get up." Valerie said, though made no move to heave herself out of bed.

"You first."

"Luna! Luna!" Valerie called, waving her arm. Luna'd probably already gotten up and gone down to the common room by now. Fin was the one to get us up in the morning, the one who made sure we didn't oversleep. Where was she? "Come on, Jedd's. Let's go."

"Don't call me Jedd's!"

"I wonder if Fin's killed Cho yet, do you think we should go down and check on her?" Val asked, finally getting up.

"I don't know, but if she needs help I can always use that vanishing charm we learned yesterday to hide the bodies. I mean, what are friends for?" I said indifferently and graced Val with an evil smirk. I love that word…smirk. I groaned and rolled out of bed, feeling the pain in my back from the really uncomfortable position I'd been sitting in. Valerie yawned and looked at her watch and her eyes widened. "Crap! Jedda! Breakfast started five minutes ago! GET UP!"

"I'm going, I'm going! Just let me-AAAAAEECCCK!!" Something leapt out and attacked my ankles from the bottom of the bed, snarling wildly. Orla's copy of The Monster Book of Monsters had my socks and was tearing them apart. Swearing, I snatched my wand:

"_Confringo! Petrificus totalus! _Booyah! Did you see that…in the air! Now keep that belted…or else!" Orla just looked at me like I was psycho and could attack any given moment. It was good for these first years to develop a healthy sense of respect and awe for the upper Hogwart's classmen. And I was prone to random attacks of fury, so if I hated you enough…well, yeah. Better Orla was scared and alive then stupid and hexed.

"I bet she's just down in the common room moping around over Cedric…again," I said with distaste in my voice. "That's all she ever talks about lately: Cedric this and Cedric that…Do you think she'll ever get over that boy?" I continued. Findabhair's obsession was a constant reminder of how miserably unhappy she was. It was like she enjoyed hurting herself. Huh, and they called me emo. I may have worn a lot of black and reveled in all the emoness of the world, but I wasn't as masochistic as Fin was. Some people just needed to shut up and be happy with what they had. Fin had Oliver, and that was more then most. Besides that fact that she was depressing and irritating to talk to these days. When Fin wasn't happy, she just wasn't _fun_ anymore.

"Nah, have you seen the guy?" Val said as she hurried to pull on a pair of jeans. I looked up with a sigh and got distracted quickly, the sky caught my attention and I zoned out for a minute or two. There was something about a dorm open to the sky…

"Hey, Jedda? JEDDA!!" Val got louder as she tried to pull me back into reality. "Do you think Fin will be up here soon? She's got to get ready and change her clothes sometime." Val asked. I felt like we were talking about the animal on some wildlife show: They've got to come up for air sometime.

"I don't know, do I look like her keeper?" I said sarcastically. I mean honestly, with the way she was acting, she could have been anywhere. Fin's answer for everything: Wander until the pavement ends. She'd show up eventually, lost in the dungeon or something like that. Something Finlike.

"Gosh, Jedda, you're a big ball of emo fun in the morning, aren't you?" Val snapped, obviously getting a little anxious. I stumbled and tripped as I pulled on the first thing I could yank out of my trunk. Oh, for Merlin's sake, how much trouble could Fin really get into? I hated mornings.

"Oh, shut up! You know I hate waking up, it's this thing with the sun and the not sleeping! And all these happy morning people!" I said grumpily, why was everyone all about the mornings? If I had my way, human beings would be nocturnal.

"Bye." Valerie called, dashing out the door.

"Hey, wait up!" I raced after her, tripping over something of Orla's on my way out the door. The Common room was not as it should have been. It looked like somebody had hit the place with a chaos inducing bomb.

"What the hell…" I trailed off and surveyed the aftermath of what had been a hexing match. The furniture was overturned, there were suspicious looking splatters across some of the white marble and few scorch marks across the carpet.

"Hey! Look, It's her potions essay! She wouldn't ever leave that just lying around, would she? I mean after that time we cheated on the last one-" Val trailed off, picking up the ink stained parchment. I grimaced, that _was_ profoundly unlike her. Findabhair wouldn't ever leave her stuff just lying around like this, scattered haphazardly across the floor. "I guess we better sort this out for her-"

"Ahem, we're late for breakfast." I pointed out loudly.

"Oh, right!" We rushed out the door, Fin's scattered belongings forgotten for now.

"She's probably with Olive, now that I think of it. Yeah, Olive's got her." Val, after coming to this conclusion halfway to the Great Hall, seemed in a much better mood. She was probably right, too. Oliver Wood was Fin's constant companion lately, flanked by Fred and George. Gryffindor freaks. I personally thought Oliver was way better looking then Cedric, but…well, I was me and she was Fin.

"OH! SCHWING! Check it out! They have WAFFLES!! I love it when they have waffles!" Valerie grabbed me around the neck and hugged me.

"Ouch! What the heck!" Why did I get to be the one receiving hugs! I hated this surplus of joy. Too much happy, get it off me! Fin enjoyed random outbursts of excitement, I didn't share her views. "They're just waffles! And what are you doing with all those toaster strudels?"

"I'm saving them for Fin when she comes down. You know she loves the icing filled ones." Valerie said pleasantly, heaping the strudels onto the empty plate where Fin usually sat. "Hey, look! Olive!"

"Have you seen her?" Oliver panted desperately, his face as white as a sheet. Uh oh.

"Seen who?" Val muttered through her mouthful, still reveling in her state of waffleness.

"Findabhair."

"Oh, she's with you." Val said confidently, pouring chocolate syrup and ketchup over her waffle tower. Oliver gave her a confused look and shook his head.

"Does she look like she's with me?" He asked, rolling his eyes impatiently.

"She probably went somewhere to get away from you." I grumbled. Oliver was one of those happy morning people. He deserved to be punished.

"Thanks." He snapped sarcastically, but his heart really wasn't in it. I knew sarcasm, I was the queen of sarcasm. And the only reason for Olive not to have taken serious affront to my comment was because he was worried.

"That's where I would go." I grinned up at him angelically, a stretch but worth the effort to see the look on his face. Booyah. Valerie looked up at him and smiled, still certain that the morning was pleasant. After all, it had waffles.

"Ifmm she's not vith 'ou, she 'ust be vith 'Edric. Duur! 'Illy Oliwe." Valerie seemed incapable of getting through a sentence without waffle in her mouth. I turned back to Oliver and translated:

"If she's not with you, she must be with Cedric. Duh! Silly Olive." I shuddered, silly sounded like such a weird word coming out of my mouth. I suddenly wished I hadn't said anything, as I saw the expression of jealousy flash across Oliver's face. There was a loud swell of voices and I looked towards the entrance to the Hall. About thirty Hufflepuff's had arrived, Cedric Diggory's typical entourage. And they looked agitated, buzzing around him like a little hive of bees.

"What's got their knickers in a twist?" Val said, turning in her seat for the first time.

"I don't know, but he better have Fin with him." Oliver growled as Cedric emerged from the crowd, panting.

"Cho!" He called, running over to our table. I felt a surge of relief that I didn't have to see Fin's face when he said that name. Cho Chang, scummy as always, sat up and popped into her alluring girlfriend pose. _Tart._ Findabhair and Valerie could pussyfoot around the really horrible insults if they wanted, but that was what Cho Chang was(and would always be, in my opinion).

"Yes, Ceddy?" I couldn't take it and burst out laughing. Valerie made a retching sound and mimicked poking her fingers down her throat. I was paralyzed by laughter, my giggles unstoppable. Cedric seemed to relax somewhat when he saw Cho and strode forward to hug her. Oh, I could see the pain on Fin's expression just at that tiny gesture.

"Hey!" Oliver shouted, glaring at Cedric. "Hey, Ceddy?"

But Cedric didn't really look like he gave a damn about whatever Oliver had to say(per usual), but gave everything about the empty seat beside Valerie. He practically tripped over Cho in his horror. Val looked down at her plate and back up at him and made a face.

"Fin?" She asked, her chipper mood returning. She even moved to place another strudel on the plate.

"Tell me she's with Oliver." Cedric muttered, staring at us with a look like a man whose about to swing from the gallows.

"No, she's not with Oliver. We thought she was with you." I responded, my feeling of unease growing. Cedric's already pale skin went an ugly shade of ash gray and his body tensed from head to toe.

"What is it? Cedric?" There was no reason to panic, she was probably just lost in the dungeons…Pretty boy did tend to be…cool and level headed in a crisis. Oh, shit!

"No, no, no, no…" He was shaking his head now, stepping back from me.

"You _lost_ her?!" Oliver snapped incredulously from behind him, and Cedric whipped around to face his livid expression.

"She was with you the entire day yesterday and you didn't see them take her?" That was odd, instead of looking as though he wanted to rip Olive into little pieces like he normally did, Cedric kind of looked like he was going to be sick. He stumbled and grabbed the table, taking huge breaths.

"Who took her!? What are you talking about?!" Oliver's expression really couldn't decided whether it wanted to be furious or frantic. He turned towards us and pointed. "_You_ lost her!"

"We did not!" I shouted, slamming down my goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Wait…" Val looked up for the first time, addressing Cedric. "She's not with you?"

"How could you let her out of your sight!?" Cedric roared, shoving Oliver hard. Several heads turned and I stood up quickly. As much as I would enjoy a good scrap and a chance to see Diggory flattened all on the same day, this was not the time or place.

"Watch it, Hufflepuff!"

"You great git, Wood! This isn't about House feuds! She's your girlfriend, you're supposed to _take care _of her!" Pretty Boy snarled viciously, grey eyes as hard as flint and bright as silver. Underneath all that acting, he looked desperate.

"But…Olive!" Valerie wailed, "You're a Keeper! Isn't it your job to keep things?!"

"She's gone, where's she gone?!" Oliver had rebounded from Cedric's shove and was shouting back, furious.

"She's at the bottom of the lake!" Cedric groaned, clutching his skull like he was having a massive migraine.

"That's silly, why would she be at the bottom of the…" Realization donned on Val's face and she looked from Oliver to Cedric for a second before turning back to Oliver and wailing: "But you're a Keeper!"

"Yeah, and he's a Seeker!" Oliver growled at Cedric, poking him in the stomach. "So, he should go _find _her-"

"And Fin's a bloody Chaser!" I shouted over their bickering. "What does Quidditch position have to do with any of it?"

"I-" Cedric was looking green again.

"He-" Oliver waved his arms uselessly before coming up with a satisfactory comeback: "It's all your fault that she's down there, isn't it? This is all about that stupid cup! I'll kill you, Diggory! I'll crush-" Fred and George had arrived just in time to break things up.

"-Crush his bones to make your bread. Yes, we know Oliver. Now calm down before you hurt yourself." George grumbled, grappling with Flyboy's wind-milling arms.

"Easy, mate. It's nobody's fault, they've taken Ron, too." Oliver didn't look like he believed them, and I'm sure if either of them let him go, he would try to kill Cedric. At this point, Diggory didn't look like he would have minded in the least.

"Do, do, do, do do do do da!" Val hummed, along to the Twilight Zone theme. Cedric still looked like he was going to be sick as they dragged Oliver back to the Gryffindor table. I leaned over and set a hand on Ced's arm.

"Just remember when you feel like rubbish, it could always be worse. The goblet could be half empty _and_ cracked." I reassured him. Cedric gave me a bleak look of despair. What? I was just telling things like they were.

"I thought the glass was supposed to be half full." Val said, looking confused.

"People who believe that kind of bollocks are delusional. Hey, why isn't _she_-" I pointed to Cho. "Coming over to reassure you?" I asked him, watching Cho chatter to his popular friends.

"She's socializing." He muttered, sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger.

"While your over here bawling?" Val asked.

"I am not crying." He snapped , wiping his eyes. "_They're _crying-"

He gestured over to where Roger, Anastasia, Olympia and Danica were sobbing unashamedly into their breakfast's. Ravenclaw's are known for three things: Wit, physical attractiveness and last but not least…melodrama.

"B-But _no_… I _love _my mamma Fox!" Anastasia wailed, burying her tear-stained face in Davies shoulder.

"She was always so funny-" Danica whimpered, lips trembling.

"What does that make us, chopped liver?" I snorted, rolling my eyes.

"How do you think I feel? My cutest player's life is in the hands of HUFFLEPUFF!!WAAAOOHH!" Roger broke off with a sound like a beluga whale sneezing and collapsed into an inconsolable fit of histrionic proportions. Cho's head whipped around at the phrase 'cutest player' and she sneered.

"She probably doesn't want you to save Fin," Luna interjected quietly. I jumped in surprise, I'd totally forgotten she was there. "Cho is jealous."

"I've got to go." Cedric got up and stormed off.

"Hey, Ced!" Val called, standing up and hefting her plate of strudel. "You know, if Fin drowns, you have to find me a new best friend. And then, you have to share this strudel with me-"

"And I'll shank him." I said quickly.

"-And Jedda will shank you. So, no pressure!" Val sat back down and grinned, shoving strudels in her pocket and humming.

"How can you still be happy?" I asked incredulously. Her consistently sparkling optimism was staggering.

"It's a waffle morning and I have strudel's. What's not to be happy about?"

"I don't think he'll be able to bring Fin back if he looks like he does now." I pointed to where Cedric had kind of curled into a fetal position at the edge of Hufflepuff table, head between his knees. If I squinted, I could see him rocking back and forth. Well, crap!

"Eh, he does that. He'll be fine in a few minutes, you'll see. After all, it's not his queen of Ravenclaw like Cho. If it was, I bet we could have conned Fin into helping us knock Cedric unconscious and paying off the merpeople to drown Cho. YEAH!" Val squealed, rubbing her hands together. Suddenly, her face fell.

"What?"

"Well, the murder plans just aren't the same without Fin. There's no…fun, I guess. No maniacal, deranged laughter. Hmm, I'm going to miss her."

"Calm down, Oliver! I'm going to stab you in the eye with my quill if you trip over my ankle again!" I shouted, glaring at him. He paced anxiously, this steady back and forth movement. It was like watching a pendulum swing.

"I can't! She's down there and I can't do anything about it! Her life is in the hands of that stuck-up prat, who'd just as soon let her drown as give her an autograph." He snarled out of the corner of his mouth, gripping the railing with white knuckles. I couldn't have agreed more and opened my mouth to tell him that, but Val beat me to it. She was on her feet in a second and had Oliver by the front of his robes.

"You think you could do a better job and swimming down there to go get Fin, flyboy? You, the guy who pays more attention during meal time then in any class whatsoever? You want to know why I'm calm? Because I trust Cedric more than I trust you. He knows his stuff…you, well, you don't even know enough useful spell work to turn a tea cup to a mouse!" She snapped, finally unleashing the nervous tension that must have been building behind all that smiling. And people worried about _me_.

I sat there and thought about it, pretty boy was a wanker but he was probably a more responsible savior then Oliver was. Besides, Cedric was more of the save-the-damsel-in-distress guy. He could pull it off and still look like he was some kind of movie star. Val was right, Oliver would have come up spluttering. Maybe if Fin had been kidnapped by something air born…but I doubted it. The truly tragic thing was Oliver _cared_, really and devotedly cared about what happened to Fin. Cedric Diggory was too hung up on his own life, in my opinion. A boy had to be a total idiot not to see that Fin was crushing on him: A. She sat differently, perched on the edge of her seat and tried to look as long and lean as possible(not hard for someone like her). B. She'd let her hair down and watch him from the corner of her eye. C. When she got that faraway look on her face, she was daydreaming of him. Fin was the planning head of the runespoor, she made the decisions. I was the critic, the venomous head who bitches constantly. Val was the dreamer, causing us to remain stationary for days lost in vivid imaginings. But more than that: I was the realist, I kept everyone grounded, in my own way. The world was not all unicorns and buttercups.

"What kind of a useless skill is that?" Oliver muttered angrily, "Turning a teacup into a mouse!"

"Cedric could do it." Val snapped, her expression vicious. "And that's why Fin likes Cedric better."

Oh, low blow. Very, very low. Oliver's expression fell and as he turned back to the water, I recognized the look on his face. It was the one he wore after every Quidditch game he lost: The look of defeat. It wasn't fair to him at all, he was a good guy! One of the best! But how fickle the heart of a teenage girl. The silence that followed Val's last comment stretched out longer then I'd expected, interrupted only by the champions all diving into the water.

"Bubble-head charm." I pointed to Cedric and tried to break the silence.

Oliver just stared moodily at the surface of the lake, his brows furrowed with concentration. After a few minutes of searching the water, I realized just how kind of _boring_ this task was. I couldn't see what was going on at all. There was nothing to see, just the still surface of the lake.

"Okay, well this is just riveting entertainment." I groaned, sitting back in my seat. "It would be better if it was raining."

"Rain." Val muttered darkly, peering at the water.

"What does he have that I don't have?" Oliver growled moodily, clenching the railing tightly in his fist. I mulled that over for a moment: Cedric was the traditional, schoolboy ravishing. His grades we excellent, his manner gallant. Oliver was tall, scrawny, and cute. His top grade in everything that didn't relate to Quidditch in some way, shape or form was a T. Sometimes, if properly reminded beforehand, he remembered to hold the door open for a girl. He didn't even stand a fraction of a chance.

"Draco's more in the running then you are, Oliver." Val said bluntly, shaking her head.

"WHAT!? DRACO MALFOY!? OVER ME!?" His pale face turned a vibrant shade of puce.

"SHUSH!" We all whispered loudly, Fred and George giving him a smack on the head for good measure.

"Honestly, Oliver. Jedda's like a ray of sunshine compared to you this morning! Just keep your shirt on and don't go doing anything stupid-"

"-Like diving in, because we all know you cant swim to save your life, let alone Findabhair's." George finished his twins sentence, looking not in the least bit repentant about the valuable information he'd just shared.

"You cant swim? Really?" Val was grinning madly at him.

"I can swim _fairly well_." Oliver snarled through clenched teeth, brown eyes flickering dangerously.

"Fairly crap, if you ask me. He's scared of fish." Fred supplied, sighing and slumping down into a seat beside me.

"Oliver, are you really scared of fish?" I asked, trying to keep a straight face. Ah, forget it. I was the queen of smirking.

"Just leave it alone, damn you! Can you, for once, just leave bloody well enough alone?"


	13. Chapter 13

_**Author's Note: **__Tremendous amounts of love to all of my incredible readers! I love you dearly! Here's the next chappie, with a little smidget form Val at the end. I hope you enjoy her rather...hrrm…strange? views on life._

Waking up, I took a giant breath. And instantly I was suffocating, the air was painful. No! Not air, water! There was a blurred shape, strong arms pulling me upwards through murky green lake water. But no air! I thrashed out with my legs and hit something hard. Suddenly, Cedric's face was in mine, eyes wide with panic. His bubble-head charm was a flowing membrane around a mouth that was open in horror. I could not hold the water in my lungs any longer, I took another gasp of death. No oxygen! No air! He was tugging me, pushing me pulling me upwards and my lungs were screaming. All I could do was writhe in the murky green silence, my body twisting in on itself, my field of vision getting smaller and smaller, clouding red and black.

Air. Freezing cold air on my face and Cedric's desperate, gut-wrenching cries in my ears. I gasped, gurgling with the pain in my lungs. Ugh. Liquid pain.

"Findabhair-" Glug, glug, sputter. "Fin?!"

"Are you-" I choked and wretched, water heaving up from my lungs. "I didn't make you…" I couldn't get my breath.

"Findabhair!?"

"You're not going to lose?" I gasped wearily, panting and trying to kick my stiff limbs.

"Don't talk, just breathe." His voice was so frantic, edged with what sounded like tears.

"But if you lose-" I choked off, coughing and croaking as I wretched up mouthfuls of water. I was desperately trying not to flounder and draw attention to the fact I was waterlogged. Must not look like I'm drowning, must keep head above water!

"Breathe!" He commanded, strong arms cradling me as we swam towards the platform. A blackness that had been only creeping before threatened to overwhelm me and my pained lungs. I sucked in a mouthful of water and coughed, more out of habit then anything else, struggling weakly. My position shifted and I felt his arm around my midsection-

"Open your eyes, Fin! Breathe! Come on! I've got you, don't panic." Cedric hissed frantically in my ear, struggling to stay afloat.

"I am." I croaked weakly with a kind of gurgling voice, trying to get around whatever was lodged in my throat. I had to strain to get my eyes open, it was like they'd been stuck together. Everything was so bright it paralyzed me for a moment and I heard Cedric's ragged breathing hitch as he tugged me toward the platform's in the middle of the lake. I hacked another cough and tried to swim, feeling as though my veins had been filled with plastic. Everything was too stiff and floppy. I floundered and gave up, letting him drag me towards the cheering stands.

"Fin!" He shook me and I groaned.

"What?" My voice still gurgled.

"Keep talking to me, just keep talking." We were almost there now and all I wanted to do was sleep, sink back into the cold water and sleep…."TALK!!"

"Ow! Cedric, stop it! Just let me go back to-" It sounded like I was still under water, my voice thick.

"You're not going back anywhere, Fin. Wake up!" I'd really never heard him so frantic, and his left arm was so tightly wrapped around my midsection I couldn't breathe even if I'd wanted to. Everyone was screaming, and I could hear several people shouting my name. I gasped wearily, feeling like I wasn't able to get enough oxygen but unable to do anything about it. Cedric was babbling in my ear about my weakness for charms and how if I didn't start showing more signs of life he was going to perform mouth to mouth. I grinned a little at that, feeling as though my skull had been filled with lake water.

"Findabhair! There you are!"

"Cedric!" Cho's shrill call was lost in the tumult and I looked up to see Valerie, Jedda and Ernie leaning out over the railing of the middle row of the stands. Cedric's 'fake' friends, as I liked to call them were crowding the bottom rung, eager to share some of his glory; along with several other faces I couldn't make out through my somewhat hazy vision.

Then there were arms pulling me up and out of the water and I finally recognized the frantic voice that was calling my name. Oliver. He was right in my ear, yanking me out of Ced's arms as though pulling me from the jaws of death. I was so cold now that I was out of the water, the air chilling me to the bone even as Oliver drew me tight to his warm body. But I didn't care how cold or tired _I_ was.

"Fin! I thought you were drowned! Are you-" I shoved away from him and tried to reach out to Ced, but Oliver, as if determined to be my shepherd in all things; pushed me back and helped pull him up. Ced collapsed heavily on the platform and Madam Pomfrey was there in a split second, trying to wrap him up in a blanket.

"No, get her first." He coughed, gesturing to me. She ignored him and wound him up so tightly he looked as though he were in a straitjacket. She was all over me in the next second, shoving Wood out of the way.

"Let her go! She's been traumatized enough in these last few hours without you mauling her! Shoo!" She cried, enfolding me in a warm blanket. "Drink this!"

"ARGHACK!" I coughed so hard I stumbled to my knees and a spout of water splattered over the boards. I took a huge gasp of air, cool and clear but ragged on my lungs. I could think again!

"You just had to swallow half the lake, didn't you?" Oliver choked out from above me looking perilously close to a mental breakdown.

"I-" Then Madam Pomfrey was forcing a potion down my throat. My insides flushed with warmth and I felt steam shoot out of my ears. It was all happening so fast I had trouble getting my slightly water-logged brain back on track. Cedric was the important thing-

"Ced! You won!" I choked out, laughing. He looked over at me and grinned weakly, trembling like a leaf. And that was pretty much all the reunion we got before Cho had to flounce over and wreck it.

"Cedric! Oh, I was so worried!" She cried in her painfully high voice, dragging him into an embrace he couldn't struggle out of while impeded by the heavy blanket. The position was so awkward for the both of them that I opened my mouth to laugh, only to be tackled by Oliver.

" I really was frightened. Don't you ever do that again!" He chided, obviously taking advantage of the fact that I had no use of my limbs by jamming my head under his neck and wrapping his cloak around me so I was tucked into his chest like a unwilling bush baby. Madam Pompfrey turned around with a third blanket, ready to package Cedric and I together only to find us otherwise occupied. My heart sank as she threw up her hands and gave up. I'd rather be snuggled next to Cedric than Oliver.

"Yes, next time I have the _option_ of spending all morning plus an hour under water; I'll be sure to consult you first." I rolled my eyes, but the effect of my biting sarcasm was muffled by his sweater. Alright, this wasn't really fair. Where Cedric was 6'1 and could easily breathe over the top of Cho's head, I was 5'7 and hopelessly lost in the tangles of three or four blankets, Oliver's cloak, Oliver's arms and his really generic navy blue sweater. At least Ced could still see what was going on! I was trapped in a compulsory snuggling hell of too much warmth and too much old spice. Where was Valerie? Or Jedda?

"Oliver!" I complained loudly, squirming around so I was sitting on his lap. I looked out over the lake, which seemed remarkably clear today, despite the disparate mist that clouded the surface farther out. Madam Pomfrey bustled by and I tried to reach out to her, forgetting my lack of mobility.

"Hey! OI!" I bellowed.

"Yes?" She gave me a very exasperated look.

"How's Cedric?"

"Oh, he'll live. As long as Ms. Chang and his various other well-wishers don't cut off his air supply too much. You, however, still look slightly peaked. Drink this-" She spooned some more of the hot potion down my throat and warmth seemed to saturate every part of my body from the ears down to my toes. "I think that charm took a while to wear off, your supposed to expel that water as soon as you surface."

"I'm okay. How did he score?" I asked as she fussed around fluffing up my blanket and freeing my arms so she could hand me a mug of hot chocolate.

"I haven't the faintest clue…however, he's in far better shape then that Delacour girl-"

"WHAT!?" I choked on the tiny sip of hot chocolate and sprayed her with it.

"For heavens sake!" Glaring at me she mopped at her uniform with the corner of one of my blankets.

"How's Fleur? Is she alright?" I writhed around and even Oliver was seeming to have trouble keeping me still.

"She's fine, a couple of nasty scratches but none the worse for wear. She was attacked by grindylows and couldn't retrieve her sister, she's frantic but she'll be alright. Now, let me take your temperature-"

"I should go talk to her, tell her that her sister will be-" I tried to struggle out of Oliver's grasp, only to be interrupted by someone grabbing me in a clumsy headlock.

"Leave him alone! He hasn't even gotten a chance to talk to her yet…Cho! You'll choke him!" Ernie's disapproving voice muttered somewhere to my left.

"How's her breathing? She wasn't breathing when we came up…She feels like she has a fever! Does she?!" Cedric had pulled back and was checking me over, pressing his fingers to my wrist and rubbing my shoulders furiously. Cho was bobbing up and down behind him and trying to catch a glimpse of me, her arms wrapped ineffectually around his waist. "Get off her, Wood, she cant breathe!"

"No! She's fine. Shove off, Diggory." Oliver snapped, looking menacing.

"She is absolutely fine!" Madam Pompfrey said indignantly, glaring at the two boys. I leaned around her and grabbed Cedric's hand.

"Are you alright?" We asked each other in unison and several people laughed. I giggled a little at Ced's wild, flushed expression.

"How'd you do?" I asked eagerly, fighting Oliver's restraining arms. You would think Cedric was going to drag me back into the lake by the look on Oliver's face.

"I arrived a minute outside the time-limit, but I was the first up." He was trying to downplay the fact that he was obviously pleased as Punch with himself for being the star champion in this task. His grin was a mile wide and he was just as excited as he was worried.

"Cedric! That's great, I'm so proud of you!" I lunged forward and kissed him on the cheek before I could think of the repercussions. Whoops. He reeled a little bit, eyes wide with shock and a stoned half-smile on his face.

"Yeah, heheh, thanks! You too." He babbled, smiling at me and touching his cheek with his free hand.

"What?" I asked, laughing nervously.

"Huh?" He blinked at me stupidly. I tried to change the subject to something more coherent:

"Swim team paid off, eh?"

"I guess so." He beamed at me.

Suddenly, like some great beast, the crowd roared and we looked at the lake. Another champion had emerged, Krum, dragging Hermione along like he was some kind of prehistoric caveman of the depths. We cheered along with the rest, clapping as they reached the edge and clambered onto the platform. Cedric was lost in the melee and his hand slid out of mine reluctantly as Cho dragged him aside.

"I wonder where Harry is?" Oliver said loudly in my ear, trying to get my attention. I didn't really give a blast-ended skrewt about how the perfect Harry Potter did, but I was worried about how they planned to retrieve Fleur's little sister.

"Yeah…" I agreed vaguely, searching the stands for a sign of Val and Jedda. I hopped off his lap and shrugged underneath his arm so I could lean against a support beam and look out over the water. Ludo Bagman was announcing something about Krum loudly in the background but I wasn't listening. I was still kind of mulling it all over. I _had_ been Cedric's most treasured possession. Me. Findabhair. It was all very surreal, almost too much like one of my fantasies. It wasn't like I could even claim that he liked me in any quantifiable way other than as his foster sister. But it still filled me with a kind of fuzzy warmth that a potion couldn't top.

"Hey, Fin! You're alive!" Valerie lunged at me, clawing around Oliver and dragging me into a bear hug. Cedric gave her an indignant look(he'd somehow managed to lose hag-face in the crowd) and she smiled at him cheekily.

"Never doubted you for a second, pretty boy." Jedda slapped him on the back and then snorted.

"I have five galleons that say otherwise." George Weasley jingled a pouch filled with his winnings. She pulled at her hair and groaned.

"Well, serves you right for betting against the best, doesn't it?" Cho appeared, sticking her little snub nose where it didn't belong. Fred and George stopped grinning and stared at Cho as though she'd crawled out of the sewer. Jedda looked murderous and Val just blinked in surprised shock.

"Good feelings gone." Jedda muttered, rolling her heavily make-uped eyes skyward. There was an uncomfortable silence that was broken only by the fourth champions emersion.

The crowds were screaming again and three heads surfaced above the water, followed by a procession of mermaids. Of course. The great Harry couldn't get by without a royal escort. But I felt a sudden rush of gratitude towards Harry when I saw him helping Fleur's younger sister swim to the platform. Percy Weasley shoved by me in his eagerness to retrieve Ron.

"Haha, that loser lost!" Valerie called from behind me, grinning her head off. I saw several people turn to glower at her and rolled my eyes. Val, un-phased, was still laughing. "Dumb-ass."

"That's really rude!" Hermione Granger turned around and snapped at us. I just gave her a bored look and snorted.

"So is this: 'Oh, Professor! Pick me, Pick me!'." I hopped up and down and raised an arm in the air. Wow, that was really mean. When had I gotten that mean? Hermione gave me a death-glare. Generally, I was the one who dished out the death-glares, but today, I couldn't meet her eyes. Instead, I watched Krum, who was giving her that steady, eagle-eyed regard that besotted boys gave to their girlfriends. Lucky Hermione, lucky Cho, lucky Val, lucky Jedda, lucky Susan, unlucky me.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Oliver came from behind me and rubbed my shoulders, his solid chest at my back.

"Depressed." I unintentionally told the truth, heaving a gigantic, world-weary sigh.

"Oh! I almost forgot! I saved you some breakfast!" Valerie turned around to beam at me, digging her fingers into her pockets. From the hideous depths of her jean-jacket pocket she produced a hairy, bluish fuzz ball.

"Val, what is that?" I asked tentatively, my stomach growling despite my disgust.

"This? It's four strudels and a waffle. See, the waffle is like a protective outer casing. Once I peel this off, at least one strudel will have survived. Pure genius!" She laughed maniacally, holding it under my nose.

"Er…I'm not hungry, but you go ahead." I assured her, sighing. Even balled up breakfast food couldn't cheer me up.

"Okay, but you're missing out." She peeled the majority of the blue fuzz off and took a huge mouthful. Ew.

"Are you feeling alright? Are you cold?" So many bloody questions! And people accused Oliver of being too quiet! I gave an exasperated snort, and glared at the boards beneath my feet. He frowned and wrapped his arms around me, swaying back and forth slightly. I don't know how the rocking motion was supposed to help, it just made me feel seasick. "Can I cheer you up?"

"Probably not." Probably never. I looked up and met Cedric's gaze and was so surprised he'd been looking at me I nearly looked away. Something made me stop and stare back, captivated by the silver gray. The way he looked back at me was somehow familiar, it was that steady-

"Will you let me try?" Oliver jarred me back to reality.

"Huh?"

"Will you let me _try _and cheer you up?" Oliver insisted, sticking his head in front of mine so I couldn't see Cedric anymore. Damn it. He was making the depression worse!

"Does it involve a snog session?" I muttered, peeking over his shoulder. But the moment was gone, and whatever had passed between Cedric and I was gone with it in the flash of a camera for the Prophet. A picture that consisted of Cedric kissing Cho lightly on the cheek. And right then, yes, a snog session with Oliver was exactly what I needed. Suddenly, before I could answer him, a blonde reporter in hideous green robes yanked me from his grasp. With another sweep of her arm, she'd pushed away Cho and shoved me, damp and miserable, into Cedric's arms.

"Lovely! Look at the camera, dears!"

"Wha-OUCH!" I was blinded by a flash and stumbled back against Cedric clumsily. He was blinking madly and shaking his head like a cornered bat.

"Mr. Diggory? Am I right to assume that this girl here is your sister?"

"Foster sister!" We corrected in unison, still trying to get our bearings.

"So, Ms. Chang is your fiancée?"

"What?! No! It's none of your business-" Cedric snapped as we bonked heads. Hands like the feelers of a bug snatched me by my collar and tossed me back to Oliver.

"So, snogging?" It tried to pick up the conversation where it had left off.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a little extra-curricular Quidditch, but if you want to snog too, that's fine with me." Oliver raised an eyebrow as I stood on tip toe to kiss him square on the lips.

"Sounds like a fabulous idea." I said, and for once I really meant it.

**A Brief glimpse of Valerie-Why the dreamer sees more than the critic and the planner…**

Things were busy as the Professors set to herding us onto boats that would ferry us back to the castle. I had my own agenda, of course. Which consisted solely on introducing Mer-people to the beauties of a good breakfast. Sure, I mean, it wasn't like I could speak murmish but everybody understands English if its spoken slowly. They just like the icing in the strudels, though. Not any other part of it…

"Val, we've got to go. Don't feed the merpeople, you'll lose your fingers! I don't want to get stuck in a boat with Warrington again-" Jedda was whining, a perpetual state of being for her; dragging me away from the little mur-boy I'd been sharing my food with.

"Hey!" I smacked her hand away from my denim jacket and continued to stride down the makeshift pier. Water was awesome, totally my element. And I love boats. Jedda and Fin really didn't like it all that much. Where was Fin, anyway?

"Where'd she-?"

"She took off with Oliver ages ago, Val. Merlin, don't you pay attention to anything?" Alright, now that was starting to get a bit old. In her epically continual pessimistic piss and moan attitude, there's just a touch of an anal-retentive quality. Don't get me wrong, I loved her dearly. I mean what's a unicorn without a thestral to counterbalance they're delightfully contrary facets? But really, I didn't notice Fin melting into the woodwork with Oliver and if she had snuck off, then she'd done so for a reason and we shouldn't be in such a hurry to find her, then, should we? I was about to-

"Oi! You two, come here!" Cedric(Magenta) was standing up in one of the last boats, a shivering Cho(Squinty) sitting beside him wrapped in a baby blue blanket. Davies(My dearly beloved: One day we will be married and have beautiful, pervy babies together!), Edgecomb(Curls) and Macmillan(Spazo) were stuck there with them, bored looks on their faces. Oh, it was a good thing Diggory wasn't my type because I could acknowledge the beauty of Fin's Hufflpuffian god, even if Jedda stubbornly could not. Cedric was one pretty man, alright. I snagged Jedda and frog marched her towards the boat, grinning cheerfully.

"Gonna give us a ride, Magenta?" I asked, hopping into the boat and dragging Jedda with me. We began our slow, sedate journey across the center of the lake after the other boats with me in the back next to Jedda. Even sitting beside the queen of killjoys, life was good. I was going to run up to the common room, curl up on the rug in front of the fire and down a few butterbeers. I was going to revel in life, damn it.

"Have any of you seen-"

"She's off with Oliver." Jedda answered abruptly, glaring. Not for the first time in my life, I struggled with the acute urge to upend the little skiff and send her into the depths, this time literally instead of figuratively. Barring that, I elbowed her soundly in the gut.

"Don't rock the boat, Sunshine Kitten." I chided loudly, giving it a little wiggle to prove my point. I'd capsize this bloody dinghy if that's what it took to silence her. Dumb bunny would ruin EVERYTHING if I didn't keep her on the straight and narrow…with my mental fists of fury.

I mean, a gradual dose of jealousy was what Magenta needed; not to be beaten over the head with a jealousy club. Too much too soon and the pair of them would declare an outright war and before you know it Gryffindor and Hufflepuff will have seceded from the union to do battle! It'd be like Findabhair of Gryffindor instead of Helena of Troy! Whew! But really, it would be terrible. Just goes to show why you cant leave inter-house diplomacy to the emo kid.

"Oh. I wanted her to come to the common room today, actually. Ravenclaw's bloody freezing all the time and I doubt she'll be very warm. Plus, there's a post-task party I thought she-_they,_ excuse me-" Cedric amended fairly, an annoyed look pasting itself to his pretty-man features. "-might enjoy, so maybe you two could check with _them _for me."

"Well, whatever she and Oliver are doing it's sure to have body heat involv-" I lunged for Jedda's face in a completely provoked attack.

"TACKLE HUG!!!" There was a shrieking, yelping screaming echo as the boat pitched forward on it's prow like the Titanic as I and she-with-the-brains-and-social-tolerance-of-a-gnome hit the deck with all the distracting force of my entire body and ample boobage behind it. Some one landed spread eagle across my back and Jedda made an awkward snerking sound as she struggled to breathe under the combined pressure.

"No, Jack, don't leave me! I love you, Jack!" Yay for Leonardo Di'Caprio, my homey.  
"What the hell are you on about, Valerie? Get off of me!" She grumbled against the bottom of the boat.

"Stanley! What the hell was that for? Curls piped reedily, clutching Spazo Macmillan like he was a life preserver. "I cant swim!"

"What is that supposed to mean, Estrella?" Magenta had a resentful glare on his features, that look that said I-will-chop-Oliver Wood-into-tiny-pieces-and-stomp-on-them. Jedda, queen of finding herself knee deep in her own grave, kept digging:

"She's off with her boyfriend, Cedric. You don't see us asking what you do with Cho when you go off alone with her, do you?" Cho giggled lightly and I briefly considered that sickening possibility. Fin would just have mental short circuit if even a little giggle was justified.

"Time to speed things up." Cedric's face went green and he began murmuring an incantation over the side of the boat. Jedda went cross eyed and sat up, waving her hands frantically in his direction.

"Hey, uh…can we not? My stomach has issues with speEEEEDDDDAAAA!!!" Jedda shrieked as we flew to the back of the boat, clamping a hand over her mouth. The G-force had me clinging for dear muggle-born life as we rocketed across the lake with superhuman velocity. WHOOO! Damn, this was fun! There is nothing in the world like knowing that at any moment, a maddened Hufflepuff might leap off the tenuous pillar of sanity and send you racing across a giant squid infested lake in a fit of epic jealousy. Or, like knowing you might tip the boat over and die. That's cool, too.

"I want to live, please, Pretty Boy! Make it stop!" Jedda was in a puddle at my feet, gasping theatrically as the boat whizzed up to shore and beached itself, Cedric leaping off the prow in a knightly fashion.

"Again, again!" I laughed heartily at everyone's terrified expression, equally as pleased by the strange way they were all quivering like ice mice.

"My entire life just flashed before my eyes…" Curls Edgecomb moaned, tripping her way onto shore.

"Yeah, I bet it was really boring." Squinty said nastily, an unusual feat for our little Asian princess.

"I…am…BALARGH!" The sound of Spazo being violently sick over the side of the boat made me giggle as I got out. Tromping up the hill beside Davies and Jedd's, I focused on whipping my hair back into a normal shape and listened to them chatter:

"So, Diggory certainly wasted no time rushing after Fin and Wood, did he?" Roger mused, scuffing the grass with his the toe of his shoe.

"Pretty Boy is a selfish prat, of course he did. Like Findabhair really wants him there-"

"She does." Roger and I said in unison.

"JINX!" WHOOP!! I gets a soda, oh yes, I win!" I shouted my victory to the skies.  
"AH! Where?!" Roger threw himself to the ground like a scared rabbit.

"Uh…you owe me a soda? Never mind." I sighed, sometimes wizards and witches just didn't get it.

"Come on, get real: Findabhair is almost happy with Oliver, they could grow up and have gorgeous, freaky Quidditch babies together."

"Well, almost happy is good enough for you, Queen of Darkness; but the rest of us require a little more sustenance. Findabhair loves Cedric and Ced loves Fin." Jedda and Roger stopped like they'd been petrified and yanked me backwards.

"Are you mental? He's dating Chang!" Jedda snorted, rolling her eyes.

"You two numbskulls are blind and thick if you think that. Trust me, my name art Valerie Stanley," I giggled lightheadedly and winked at Jedda, smirking. "And I know things that you can barely comprehend."


	14. Chapter 14

-1**Author's Note: **_*staggers in, clutching pitchfork wounds* I'M SORRY! Don't beat me, haha. But no, I've been crazy busy with the upcoming holiday and just haven't had a chance to, ahem, perfect this chapter. I do apologize for it's titchy size, but I don't write in order and this is where I have a gazillion ficlet's that I have to somehow work in before we get to an awesome sort of 'springtime scene' that I know you'll adore (i.e. it's like Meet the Parents. Spoiler: Fiona and Amos take sides on the great Cho vs. Oliver debacle.). Yeah, your gonna love that chapter. Now, I've got to go face _Disenchanted _fans and recieve more grievous injuries for not updating sooner(and better). You're all a great bunch and I'm sorry that I take longer than Jedda in the morning to update this. Special thanks to Falconflight, Equify and Vivi for your supportive, longish reviews!_

"Hey, Oliver?"

"Yeah?"

"Pass me the bag, would you?" I asked, reaching for a bag of Bertie Bott's Every-flavored Beans. He leaned over and picked them up while still keeping his right arm securely wrapped around my waist. Ironically, we were sitting on the grassy shore of the lake. It had turned into a brilliant, rare sunny day. The chill was definitely still there, but it was the price we paid for a little fresh air. I had one of the Quidditch books I'd gotten for Christmas open in my lap and was reading the chapter on the relationship between seekers, chasers and keepers.

"Orange?" He offered me a bean. I popped it in my mouth and chewed slowly before I recognized the flavor. Mango.

"Good?"

"Yep." I said, permitting him to kiss me on the cheek. _Though a seekers primary concern should always be the snitch, they should also watch out for how their chasers are playing. Similarly, a chaser is almost always concerned with not only their seekers progress, but that of the keeper as well. Chaser's playing on the defensive should form a strong bond with their Keepers to promote a fluidity of movement passing the quaffle. _

_ The chaser's relationship with their seeker during a game is almost always sacrificial. A chaser can choose at any time to block offensive plays made by the opposing team, such as violent plays made by the opponents Beaters. This usually results in injury to the chaser, but in the end points are usually recouped because of the seekers continued play…_

"Life imitates art." Oliver mumbled through a mouthful of beans. I tried to quell my disgust with his perpetual habit of taking an entire handful of beans and stuffing them in his mouth. I hated it almost as much as I hated the smell of Old-Spice.

"Elaborate, please." I sniffed, plucking a red bean from the bag and biting into it. Blood. Just like the pops. I chewed vigorously and searched for more red beans.

"Well, how I see it, love is like Quidditch." He began through his mouthful and swallowed hard.

"Oliver, how you see it, everything is like Quidditch." I rolled my eyes and ate another bean. Nope, just strawberry.

"Touché. Do you want to hear my theory or not?" He smiled wryly and buried his face in my neck again, rubbing my side.

"Sure."

"Well, pretend every girls heart is like a snitch. You look for that special heart-"

"Like a seeker." I supplied and he smiled and nodded.

"And you pursue her …Chaser." He emphasized for me, since I was busy trying to find another blood flavored bean. Don't even ask why I liked the flavor, it's so weird even I don't get it. "And once you catch her, that's the Keeper."

"Yeah…it makes sense, I guess. But Keepers are supposed to catch Quaffles. What about the Quaffle hearts?" I complained pointedly, trying to get across the point: What about Katie Bell?

"I've got the golden snitch, why would I want the Quaffle?" He laughed, rubbing my side again. He was going to give me a friction burn if he kept at it.

"Because it's a snitchnip otherwise, Oliver!" I argued. A 'snitchnip' is when a player other than the seeker catches the snitch.

"I know where you're going with this…" He groaned.

"Yeah, and I know where you're going with everything else. You've got the heart of a Bludger! You cant just beat me over the head and expect me to-"

"Yes, well, if you want to get _technical_ than Katie is stooging on your play-" Stooging was when two chasers we're in the scoring zone at the same time while in possession of the quaffle. Metaphorically, Katie was still after Oliver even though I was dating him.

"She is _NOT_! I'm stooging on her!" I snapped viciously, getting more annoyed by the second.

"Who says you're a snitch, anyway? You could be a quaffle. What if Cho's a snitch and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it?!" Oliver was still holding me gently but the side-rubbing thing was starting to bug me.

"I'm a Ravenclaw, I'll figure it out!" I spat hastily, refusing to acknowledge that what he said was probably true. It hurt to admit I might be wrong.

"What if you're snitchnipping from her?"

"I could care less about _her_. I never claimed to be anything but clever, Oliver. Accept the fact that I'm not noble and not brave, not a Gryffindor. I'm smart and witty, it's all in the house description. Never said I had to be nice and selfless." I fumed, taking huge breaths.

" And where does it say you'd rather pine over things you cant have than accept your good fortune?" He harrumphed, clutching me tighter so I couldn't squirm away.

"Maybe I'm happier pining." I turned my head away so I didn't have to witness his hurt expression.

"So you don't care about Cho…do you care about me?" The whispered words hung in the air, as powerful as if he'd shouted them at me. There was a horrible, sickening swoop of pain in my chest. I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck in the most comforting embrace I could muster (it was awkward, to say the least.).

"Of course I care about you, Olive. You're the best guy friend a girl could have." I kissed him softly on the cheek and felt him shudder with surprise. It was kind of rare for me to initiate physical stuff like that, no matter how chaste. "I mean, you fall a wee bit short in the boyfriend department." I joked and felt his shoulder shake with laughter and his warm chuckle tickle the skin of my throat. "And don't you remember when I came to try out for Ravenclaw Quidditch team and you got knocked unconscious by that bludger? And I didn't even know who you were, but I ran over and helped-"

"Dashed around like a chicken with it's head cut off and kept waving your arms? I thought you were a lunatic…" He laughed to himself and then saw my expression. "A ravishingly gorgeous lunatic."

"Val asked what your name was and you-" I was smiling despite myself now.

"Said: I'll live."

"But she thought you'd said Olive and it stuck. I love you in my own way, Olive." Then I reached up and snogged him. My fingers ran over his shoulders and up into his hair and I kept my eyes shut and tried not to cry. I was a terrible person. But this felt so good, sinfully good.

"You can love me in this way whenever you want." He mumbled against my lips. With the sun on my face and his hands on the small of my back…I touched the tip of my tongue to his bottom lip and he opened his mouth, warm breath rushing into mine. He lay back in the grass so I was sitting on top of him and sighed with satisfaction. Soft, gentle, undemanding kisses feather light on my lips-

"_Argumenti!_"

"AAAH!" I shrieked as a spray of ice cold water soaked me to the skin. Oliver jerked away with a cry and scrabbled for his wand before his eyes fell upon who'd splashed us.

"What the hell was that for, Diggory?" He spluttered, wiping his eyes. Cedric was glaring at me stonily, as though I'd purposefully dropped something heavy on his foot. At that moment, I really, _really_ wanted to.

"I was looking for _her_, I wanted to see how she was after this morning." He muttered flatly, glaring at me like I'd just committed the worlds worst crime.

"Well, let's see, Cedric: I was enjoying finally being dry." I snapped, teeth chattering. "Thanks, anyhow. I definitely didn't get wet enough this morning."

"Is she breathing alright?" He acted like I hadn't spoken.

"Her breathings been fine." Oliver snapped, sliding an arm around my soaked shoulders. He went to pull me closer to him but Cedric brandished his wand in a lightning quick movement. There was a sound like a whip-cracking and I was scooted a good two feet in the other direction.

"Ah!" Oliver gasped and grabbed his arm, wincing.

"Cedric, Merlin damn your difficult, Hufflepuffian arse, cut that out!" I snapped furiously, glowering at him unashamedly.

"Has she eaten anything since dinner last night?" Oliver held up the bag of Bertie Bott's and Cedric's lip curled in a snarl.

"Something _healthy_? Findabhair?" He was using my full name, trying to intimidate me. I wouldn't rise to his bait.

"Shouldn't you be worried about Cho, lest she get a teensy head cold?" I grumbled, coughing a little. The sun had gone in and I really was getting chilled. Cedric didn't look at me but took off his tournament sweatshirt.

"Have you got a coat for her?" He asked, face deadly serious with a repressed emotion that seethed just below the surface. Oliver shrugged and gestured towards his soaked clothing.

"I did."

"I don't need-HEY!" Cedric forced the black and yellow sweater over my head. I stopped struggling when I realized how close he was to me and how truly marvelous this tournament thing smelt. Mmm, pheromones.

"You're coming inside. Now." He dragged me by my shoulders towards the castle as I struggled to get my arms through the holes. Another arm wrapped around my waist and yanked me back. Aw, bollocks.

"I can take her inside myself, thanks." Oliver snapped, his arm squeezing me so tightly it hurt. I squirmed and wriggled, trying to get away.

"Cut it out, Oliver! Let me go!" His arm didn't loosen. Cedric's expression was intense, frighteningly solemn. He looked like a cougar ready to pounce. He took one lithe step towards Oliver as I gasped for breath and struggled.

"Take your hands off her, Wood. Don't make do something I'll regret." Cedric's normally pleasant voice was rumbling with barely suppressed rage.

"Stop it, both of you!! Idiots! Oliver, GET OFF!" I shrieked, panicking. If I didn't get away soon, Cedric was going to lose it. And it was so hard for me to breathe…

Things happened very fast after that. It wasn't like the normal fights I'd seen: One boy started shoving and then the other until someone threw the first punch. It was instantaneously a serious fight. Cedric lunged forward and snatched Oliver's arm, yanking it from around my midsection with an unpleasant cracking sound. He grabbed me with his free hand, cradling me as gently as though we were dancing and somehow pushing me out of the way as Oliver's fist connected with the right side of his jaw. Blood splattered from his nose and sprayed across my face.

"NO! STOP IT!" I screamed, scrambling to my feet and trying to break it up. I was so frantic I didn't think to use my wand until Oliver stumbled away clutching his own broken nose. I yanked my wand out, but just before I could cast they lunged at one another and I couldn't be sure of who to hit. If I only got one of them, the other was sure to keep beating until their opponent was a broken pile of limbs.

Other people had noticed and were rushing to help, the hulking form of Victor Krum loping up the hill and swearing loudly in Bulgarian as Fred and George raced along in his wake screaming discouragement. Oliver landed another punch while Cedric was distracted and I screamed as even more blood gushed. Cedric grabbed his wrist on the next upswing and twisted it in a way no joint should have to go. Oliver went to his knees with a cry and rammed his head into Cedric's stomach, knocking him backwards. No! They were going to kill each other!

"OLIVER! STOP IT!" I snatched a hold of his sleeve. Oliver was so angry he didn't seem to realize it was me and flung me aside like a rag doll. My wand flew out of my hand as I slammed back into a tree trunk, the breath gone from my lungs and my head pounding with the collision.

"FINDABHAIR!" Cedric snarled and landed a vicious blow to Oliver's abdomen, causing him to stagger back awkwardly and lose a bit of ground. I jumped back to my feet quickly, trying to catch my breath. I lunged at them again, catching Oliver's shoulder with my fingernails and digging in. He jerked and I lost my frantic grip and hit the ground again, landing on the rocks and sending ripples of pain through my body at every point of impact. I tried to push myself back up, but the second fall had done something to my arm. It trembled and slid out from under me, sending pain lancing through to my shoulder.

"Ahh! Stop! Please!"

"Fin, stay out of it!" Cedric spat out a globule of blood and lunged for Oliver again. But Oliver was ready and caught him in the face with a powerful blow. I screamed as Cedric smashed back against a tree and slid to the ground, an arm raised to defend his face. Why was this all I could do?! Oliver raised his arm for another punch and I jumped in between them.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note:** _So sorry for the long wait! All I can say is it's complicated and rather depressing! Hope you enjoy this chapter! I edited the hell out of it and it's still not perfect!_

It wasn't his fault, really. Oliver was so _angry_ and I was in the way just as he came in on his downswing, he couldn't have stopped himself if he tried. I heard everyone's screams of horror but I couldn't move fast enough to protect my face. I dropped like a stone, crumpling to the ground and clutching my jaw where pain like I'd never felt exploded in the right side of my face. I could only gasp with an open mouth. My fists clenched and unclenched in the soil and dead leaves, a shudder running down my spine. Pain and shock…

"Findabhair?" Oliver was staring at his bloodied hands in shock, the anger drained from his expression with the blood. He'd hit me. The shock of it was something I couldn't comprehend as the tears rolled down my cheeks and blood dripped from the corner of my mouth. Fred and George hit Oliver like rugby players, knocking him to the ground and pinning him.

"Easy, 'Edric. Herm-own-ninny, is she 'urt?" Krum's voice was grave as Hermione bent over me, her face white and her mouth in a small 'O' of shock. Cedric's anxious face swam in my vision and he let out a strangled sound and I felt him drop to his knees beside me. Something was wrong, I couldn't close my mouth. I tried to speak to comfort him but the pain overwhelmed me.

"Findabhair!" Cedric's cry was lost as red spots blurred my vision and darkness reigned.

~*~

_The chaser's relationship with their seeker during a game is almost always sacrificial. A chaser can choose at any time to block offensive plays made by the opposing team…_I woke up to brilliant sunlight over the Quidditch pitch as I sat on my broom, looking around. Fred and George flew by hooting, each dressed in black/gold/blue/bronze robes. Across their backs was the name 'Ravenpuff'. Other than that, the world was very quiet, bugs chirping and birds singing in the verdant green grass that brushed the pads of my bare feet and tickled my toes.

"Findabhair! Findabhair!" Someone called my name from above and I saw Valerie, spinning her broom in lazy figure of eights like she was a water bug on the surface of a pond. Yegor waved at me from where he was sitting behind her. Jedda and her boyfriend, Thomas Richter, were looping over and over again in the sky, drifting up like a piece of feather down caught on the wind. Davies was a little ways beyond her sitting on his broom like he was perched on a tree branch and kicking his bare feet back and forth aimlessly whilst chatting up Fleur Delacour. I urged my broom over to them. I never heard myself speak, but Roger answered my question anyway.

"We're warming up for the game. See?" He pointed towards the stands and the quiet world showed its flipside: In the crowd I saw a thousand faces I recognized, heard a thousand voices chanting my name simultaneously. Fiona and Amos waved two pennants, green and blue. All the school sat behind them in the Hufflepuff stands. I turned to the Slytherin and saw the Malfoys waving at me from the front row, holding blue pennants. Behind them were my true parents, standing next to a handsome man whose face seemed familiar but name I couldn't place. There was a woman next to him who could've been my twenty year old twin. She smiled and waved a green pennant at me. Behind them sat a host of other pure blood families I couldn't name. In the Ravenclaw stands sat the Professors who waved no pennants but all seemed to be reading the same Quidditch strategy book I'd gotten for Christmas this year. I looked to see the Gryffindor stands were empty, not a soul sat there.

Then I was standing on the pitch facing my opponent, Cho. She grinned her evil little beginning of game smile at me and tossed her hair with a laugh. Her team stood behind her: Elise, Laurie, Marietta, Rita Skeeter, Marcus Flint and Draco, all slapping one another high fives. I looked behind me at my grim-faced teammates: Fred and George were my beaters, Jedda, Valerie and Luna were my chasers. My Keeper was Roger. How odd.

Madam Hooch released the balls from their box and the silver snitch flew twice around my head before speeding away. Cho and I threw ourselves into the sky and the crowd screamed for us. I had to catch that snitch, it was _mine_. My team had to win or something awful was going to happen. It was near the ground and we dove for it, charging downward recklessly.

"She's got it! She's seen it! O'Brien's got the Snitch I tell you!" My mother shrieked, her voice shrill and cold.

"No! Chang will get it, I know she will!" Mrs. Chang replied, leaning over the railing.

"Don't kid yourself…They're going to crash." The handsome man beside my twin hissed, his voice dark and unpleasant sounding. He was right, we were going to crash. But by Merlin I would have that snitch in my hand when I crashed…my fingers closed around it…Cho screamed in agony…I was soaring straight up…into the light, away from the sunny Quidditch pitch and it's odd occupants, past the Gryffindor stands which now held not a person, but one solitary quaffle…

Someone was stroking my hair very gently and there was warm breath on my ear. A lovely residual sensation of warmth and sweetness came to me as I woke up, like an afterthought of the light from the dream. I'd lost consciousness under much less favorable circumstances. I vaguely remembered being cold, wet and in desperate pain. I opened my eyes blearily and heard someone sigh with relief.

"Oh, Findabhair. You gave us a scare, love." Fiona Diggory stroked the blonde strands back from my face and I exhaled. My jaw felt a little tight for some reason, but there was no pain.

"What happened? Is Am-Dad here?" I caught myself before I could say Amos.

"Right here, Finny." I shifted a little to look at him and smile.

"Do you remember what happened?"

"No, not really. Somebody…hit me? But they were trying to hit Cedric, but I saved him…" I stopped, confused. That was all I could remember, the odd dream and the fuzzy pain were worth it to know that I'd taken a hit meant for Ced. Amos chuckled nervously and stroked my hair back from my forehead.

"Yes, you did. My little girl…" He said the words proudly, fondly.

"How did you-?" I made a random gesture.

"Oh, Professor Sprout sent us an owl. We just wanted to be here when you woke up…which reminds me…" Fiona trailed off, looking suddenly rather anxious. I noticed the subtle change in Amos's pallor as it transformed from his normal ruddy to a murky shade of puce.

"What?"

"We were-" Fiona jabbed him hard in the ribs with her elbow. "Fine. I was waiting for that Wood boy to come visit you."

"Oh, for heavens sake! I will not have you scold someone else's child, Amos! I'm sure the boy feels terrible enough as it is! And if I remember the account correctly, _our_ boy was the one who threw the first punch."

"Hhmmf…little coward…" Amos grumbled quietly and cast the infirmary door a murderous look.

"Dad," I complained, rolling my eyes.

"Well, we're going, love. Goodbye." Fiona kissed me on the forehead and reached over to touch Cedric's face gently. "Sleep well, dear."

"Thanks, Mum." And they got up and left. I settled back and became aware for the first time that Cedric was curled up next to me, my back against his chest, an arm draped over my shoulder. That was why it was so warm! I rolled over so his arm cradled me and looked into his peaceful face. Oh no.

Madam Pomfrey had fixed his broken bone, but dried blood trickled from his nose and down his lips. His pale skin was bruised from where he'd taken numerous other hits. One eye was blackened and swollen shut. I reached out and touched his cheek bone with my fingertips, the one part of his face that didn't have a bruise.

"Findabhair?" He blinked his uninjured eye and gazed at me groggily.

"Yeah?" I spoke gently, biting my lip against the tears.

"How's your jaw feel?"

"It's…okay." My voice broke and I pressed my face into the hollow of his throat. "Ced…why did you do that?"

Cedric didn't speak. His entire body was tensed like a coiled spring, every muscle clenched. I winced at the anger I felt radiating from him, the pure stress. But I felt his chest rise and fall as he heaved a sigh. His hands rubbed my shoulders, in a gesture that seemed more to calm himself then to fend off the nonexistent chill.

"That was awful, worse than seeing you almost drown. What if you had? It would have been all my fault…" He shuddered and groaned, shutting his eyes against the horrified expression.

"At least it was just me." I muttered quietly.

"What?!" Cedric was gripping my arms with surprising strength for someone who'd swam half a lake and been pummeled by a psychotic boyfriend all within the same day.

" Well, it could have been Cho-"

"Cho?! You think that…no, losing you would have been…it pales in comparison…" His argument petered out as he gazed at me, fingers loosening their painful grip on my shoulders. He pulled me into a tight embrace despite the pain it must have caused his bruised body to do so. It was so nice of him to spare my feelings like that, treat me as though I were more important than Cho Chang.

"You don't have to-"

"Shush, Fin. Just shush!" He snapped. Then more quietly, under his breath: "Before I do something _really_ stupid."

"Cedric, I-" I began, wondering what he could possibly do that could be contrived as 'stupid' in regards to me.

"I don't want to see him touch you ever again." He changed the subject with the speed of light, muscles tensing as though Oliver himself had just entered the room.

"Why?"

"I'll _kill _him." Cedric hissed, his lips curling in an expression that was frighteningly aggressive.

"No, you wont. I forbid you to kill him, Cedric." I instructed, shaking my head.

"You'll ditch him?"

"_No_."

"Why?! You don't even like him! How can you date someone you don't even like?!" He growled at me, throwing up his hands in exasperation and rolling over.

"I do like him!" Just not as strongly as I like you.

"He-broke-your-jaw." Cedric said slowly through his teeth, like I was mentally impaired.

"He-is-my-friend." I replied in the same tone. Cedric pushed himself up on his elbow and glared down at me.

"Then tell him the truth."

"I-I-cant! I cant because it will hurt him." I rolled over on my back, cradled in the warmth at Cedric's side. Because it will hurt me to watch you with Cho when I cant retaliate by being with Oliver. Oh, I was a coward!

"He deserves it." Cedric snapped, teeth on edge. But the storm was past, I could tell by his grudging lack of concrete reasoning.

"No, he doesn't!"

"Findabhair, what's really wrong?" He sighed and sank back down onto the pillow, taking my hand in his. My entire body shuddered so violently I'm surprised he didn't comment on it. I tried to wriggle away but he held me fast.

"Nothing." I tried to squirm but couldn't.

"Tell me."

"I like someone else." Cedric winced and sucked in a sharp breath.

"Ced?!" I cried out in panic, hands fluttering uselessly as I tried to locate the source of his pain.

"It's nothing, just my shoulder. Who's the other bloke?" His voice sounded so world-weary, it seemed as if some of the light had gone from those silver gray eyes. He had such beautiful eyes…

"Who?" Cedric demanded almost angrily, fingers tightening on my shoulders. Now was the time to tell him, I should tell him now. But I couldn't make myself do it. What if he was disgusted? What if it wrecked the relationship we already had? I couldn't bear it if that happened. It would end my ability to love in any other capacity, I was sure of it. My heart would break.

"No one, it's not important. I wont ditch Oliver for him, anyway, so you can stop trying." I managed to wrench my arms from his grasp. Oh, what a lie. I was shallow enough that had there been a chance in Snape's detention of Cedric feeling the same way I did, Oliver would be gone in a snitch beat.

"That wasn't what I meant. If you tell me who he is-" Cedric's outraged tone faded to a quiet sigh. "I could talk to him for you. Please, Findabhair, tell me who it is. I can handle it. I just want you happy."

"It's-" You. He was so close to me, I could feel his breath on my lips. Eyes like liquid silver with their glittering veins of gold and emerald hazel. So close to me, too close! My head screamed with dizziness with fear and shock. "It's-" The word was on the tip of my tongue, my mouth opened to utter it for better or for worse. The softness of his bottom lip brushed mine and I felt like I was falling into a silver star…into those eyes…

"Please, Findabhair? Please?" His finger's whispered across the skin of my cheekbone and he begged in a voice that was husky, reverent. Eyes flicking to my lips and back to my eyes over and over again. I was so close…couldn't resist those lips-

"Cedric, it's-" I could feel the tense desperation in his shoulders, the way the silver eyes turned to steel and the way his fingers tightened almost imperceptibly on my jaw, tipping my head up so the silver met emerald and my heart was full to bursting-

"FINDABHAIR!" The door at the end of the hall slammed open and Val, Jedda, Oliver and the twins burst inside. Cedric and I jerked apart suddenly as we turned to greet them. Well, I turned to greet them.

"Hey, guys! How's everything on the outside world?" My voice betrayed me by squeaking pitifully in shock. I shook violently, like a leaf in a gale. _Cedric _was right behind me, _Cedric _had been so close to me. Oliver used his left arm and vaulted a cot to reach us. It shocked me to see that he had injuries as well, his right arm in a sling and one eye an ugly purple color. His nose also looked slightly broken and his hand was bandaged. A strange mix of fear and worry filled my chest and my fists clenched in the bed sheets, suddenly nervous. _Don't be ridiculous! He's fine!_ Despite my self-assurances, Oliver didn't look fine.

"Oliver!" I cried, the concern in my voice grating on my ears. Very suddenly, Cedric was practically looming over my shoulder. He set an arm across my body protectively, caging me so that if I tried to squirm away, he'd be able to pull me back.

"Get Out." He enunciated clearly in a voice that made my blood run cool. Oliver stopped and straightened, not a trace of anger on his face. Fred and George stood on either side of him, looking ready to back him up. The look of disgust was so blatant on Jedda's face I had no doubt who she would side with. Val glanced warily between the two factions before sitting on the edge of our bed.

"Cedric, please. Let me apologize-" Oliver appealed weakly, his eyes pleading.

"Don't touch her." I turned towards Cedric, glaring venomously.

"Oh, shut up, Cedric. Stop being such a tosser." I sighed, more tired than anything else. I turned back towards Oliver and beckoned him forward, ignoring the way Ced's grip tightened on my arm. Oliver sank to his knees and dragged me into a gentle embrace, like I was made of glass. Warm, safe Olive who hadn't meant to hit me. He didn't even need to ask for forgiveness, I'd already forgiven him.

"Oh Merlin, Findabhair. I was so worried, I'm so sorry." His voice was edged with barely suppressed tears. Guilt rose up in my chest and I shook my head and kissed his shoulder, ignoring the ache in my neck.

"Shush, Oliver. Of course I forgive you!"

I pressed my face into his neck and wished for clarity, for simplicity. With Oliver, I understood every motion, every expression. Until recently, I'd known Cedric better than I knew myself. But so many things had changed and just a moment ago…I could have sworn Cedric wanted to kiss me. The thought was laughable, I was so deluded I was misreading the signs. And caring about Oliver, that was easy as breathing. Cedric was jumbled up with mixed feelings of anger and resentment, a bittersweet medley when combined with things like adoration and love. The concussion made me sleepy, defeated. I so longed for solid ground, and Oliver could give that to me. The only damper on my otherwise blissful state of happiness was the sound of a disgusted snort.

"Wipe the ugly expression off your pretty boy face, Diggory. That's called love." Fred snapped over Oliver's shoulder and dysfunctional a pair as we were, we shared a simultaneous sigh.

"Don't talk to me about love, Weasely." Cedric hissed with a viciousness attributed to most Slytherins.

"I'm leaving, Findabhair." Cedric prodded my shoulder and I turned towards him reflexively, holding my arms out towards him. He hugged me fiercely, so tightly it was almost painful. But it was dutiful, expected that he hug me; I wouldn't be an idiot and mistake competitive spirit for any sort of depth of devotion.

"I've got to go see Cho, anyway. She's probably worried about me-" The below the belt jab stung deeply and my hands dropped from his shoulders and I pulled back.

"Fin?" Ah, false innocence. But why was he trying to hurt me? It just didn't make sense.

"Yeah, your right. You should go see her before she comes looking for you." I replied with a weak smile.

"Yeah." Jedda snorted sarcastically under her breath. "I bet she's sick with worry."

Cedric brushed by her with a little more force than necessary as Oliver propped himself up beside me, his warm chest at my back. There was a slam as Ced pushed his way through the door at the end of the hallway. Even Fred and George looked surprised by the mild outburst and Jedda shifted her weight from foot to foot, an unrepentant scowl on her face.

"Brilliant." Oliver scowled at her, shaking his head. "There you go, Jedda. Are you happy now? Chaos and discord have been achieved."

"Well, the truth hurts." She grunted, clearly unaware of the double meaning in her tone.

No one replied and the long, awkward silence stretched out inexorably into dizzy oblivion. I think I mumbled some sort of goodbye or thanks at them before I lay back against Oliver and started to drift off with my face pressed against the solid, lumpy knit of his Weasley sweater. The twins and Val and Jedda melted away from my consciousness, the sleepiness of a head injury weighing on me heavily.

"Fin?"

"Mrrmhmrr?" I answered sleepily, opening one eye to look at him.

"Are you mad with Diggory?" He asked, nervously stroking my hair back from my forehead. I sat up and looked at him, feeling confused.

"No. Why?"

"Oh, well, never mind. I just…" He glanced down at where I was holding his hand, a rare gesture for me. Oliver's lips formed themselves into a hard line and he picked up a goblet of tea and handed it to me. "You should drink this." Mindlessly, I took the goblet from him and sipped. It was my third sip before I couldn't keep my head up. I drifted off, dwelling in dreams that were nearly as confusing as reality.

"NO!!" I shouted, blood running into my mouth and eyes. She stood in front of me for that brief breadth of a second, her face determined and proud. The perfection of her features, delicate and slim with those wide, expressive eyes…I looked to Oliver. But it was all to fast, he didn't acknowledge that it was not me who he would hit, but her. I could not scramble to my feet fast enough to receive a strike meant for my own face. In a flash of tawny hair, she crumpled to the ground, head knocked to the side from the force of the blow. Her delicate white hands clutched her slack jaw and her emerald green eyes lifted to Oliver's horrified face. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to kill him. Moody said you had to mean an Unforgivable curse, in those few seconds I can legitimately say that if I'd had a wand in my hand; I would have killed him without the slightest hesitation For touching her, for hurting her.

"Findabhair?" His voice was tiny, regretful and startled. I sprang just as hands the size of a small hippogriffs talons locked around my wrists like iron fetters.

"NO! No! Let me go!" I writhed and twisted, sending agony from Oliver's punches shooting through my head. I stopped fighting only when I heard the slightest, silvery sounding whimper. I looked down at Findabhair, but her face was blocked from my view by a sheet of golden hair. My anger dissolved. That had been such a vicious punch, packed with spiteful hate. Oliver was strong enough to only do me middling damage. But to Findabhair, the effects of such a blow must have been devastating.

"Eas, 'Edric. Herm-own-ninny, is she 'urt?" Hermione knelt beside her, pale-faced. I fought Krum's hold desperately.

"No! Let me see her!" I squirmed away and caught her eye. Oh Merlin. I fell to my knees and gazed at her in shock. Her jaw hung slack, crimson pooling between her teeth and dripping from the corner of her mouth. He'd hit her just right, not knocking out any teeth, but literally shattering her jaw. She looked at me and her jaw shuddered and she gurgled. Her eyes rolled back in her head-

"Findabhair! FIN!" She fell into my arms, limp as a boned fish. As she fell more blood slid down the white line of her jaw, spilling over my fingers. It was such a stark contrast with her pale skin it made my stomach turn. I lifted her up from the ground, I looked up at Victor, my heart twisting painfully. "Someone get Madam Pomfrey."


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: **_ANOTHER OBSCENELY LONG WAIT!!! So sorry, guys! I had to actually write this chapter from scratch(most of my chaps were pre-written, as in this is a finished fic, I just have to post them!) because I realized I'd been neglecting a key plot point that needed further explanation and because I changed the last bit of the last chapter, it totally changed the mood of the love triangle. This chap is much more plot-ty and doesn't have much with Oliver and Cedric in it(Because frankly, Findabhair's pretty pissed off with both of them.). It's preparation so you can stand the next chapter, which is one of my favourites. Again, huge apologies! I got writers block and stuff has been stressful! I have a birthday on the thirteenth, so consider this my gift to you, but on my birthday month. TA DA!_

"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey!" Valerie…

"Your so damn cutesy it makes my toes curl." Jedda. Even Jedda was perfectly, incandescently cheerful in her own dark way. "But really, Fin, we're going to be bloody late again. Your lucky Oliver likes that 'rolled out of bed' look, you know."

I lay on my belly, face pressed into the pillow and reveling in the nearly complete sensory deprivation. I just wanted to go back to sleep and not face another really miserable struggle. Valerie reached around either side of the bunk and hauled on my comforter, effectively pinning me to the mattress.

"Cutitout." I mumbled into my pillow, arching my back against the tight fabric until the pressure released. I immediately collapsed back onto the mattress.

"Findabhair? C'mon, get out of bed. The sun is up and it's time for breakfast." Somebody jabbed me hard in the ribs and I whipped around and slapped there hand away with a hiss that would have startled most vampires. My covers were unceremoniously wrenched from my grasp.

"_Impedimenta_!" I hit the ground with a thud that by all rights should have shaken the tower.

"Get up, Fin. Everybody's got problems, you least among those-"

"_Petrificus Totalus._"

"Fin!" Anastasia shrieked in surprise as Jedda fell backwards, frozen in a position with her hands on her hips. Val started to giggle before Danica shot her a reproachful look and picked up her wand.

"Leave it." I snapped, yanking on my jeans and t-shirt. I had a feeling. A bad, achey feeling that said STAY IN BED. But it was too late now, wasn't it?

"She's going to be late to meet Thomas…" Val murmured after a moment.

"And I care about this why?" I shut the door of the dormitory behind me and met Oliver at the foot of the stairs. Chirpy and high-energy as always, I walked down to the Gryffindor table with him for breakfast.

Ron and Harry were deep in conversation about something, but looked up as I approached. Hermione Granger was there, opening what looked like mountains of hate mail. I pitied her, Skeeter's article had been more than enough to set off the Harry Potter fan girls all over England. Some of those notes were bound to be vicious. She'd just snatched up a suspicious looking envelope when I smelled something, kind of like petrol-

"NO!" I shouted, lunging out of Oliver's arms and snatching away the envelope.

But it was too late, bubo tuber pus splashed across the table and all over her hands, a glob of it soaking into my wrist. I gasped and jerked away, scrambling to get the bangles off before it could ooze between them. _Merlin, I knew it. I never should have gotten out of bed! _They clattered to the floor and I grabbed Hermione's hands above the wrist, snatching a jug of pumpkin juice and pouring it over her injured forearms. Meanwhile, about five of the surrounding Gryffindor's leapt back in terror from the flying melee of pus, pumpkin-juice and unopened hate mail.

"Undiluted bubo-tuber puss." Ron Weasley muttered from behind me, sniffing at the envelope.

"Way to be a day late and a sickle short…" I hissed between my teeth, plunking the half-empty pitcher down in the middle of the table and turning back to Hermione.

Instead of being greeted with a grateful, or at the very least relieved expression, she was gazing at me in shocked horror. And that's when I realized that she wasn't looking at me, but at the dark mark now plainly visible on my arm. To make matters worse, so was Harry. I released her wrists and jerked my left arm back against my chest like she'd stung me, stepping back so quickly I bumped into Oliver.

"Fin, love, are you alright? You got some on your wrist, let me see-" He was chuckling about the whole incident, blissfully ignorant but concerned in his own totally innocent and well-meaning way. I staggered back from him as he reached for my wrist, jerking it out of his grip. I caught a glimpse of Jedda nudging Val across the hall, the smile fading from her face as she noticed the scene in the making.

"Findabhair, your hurt." Oliver spoke with a little more emphasis, reaching for me again. "Let me help you."

"No, I'm fine. I just--I've got to go up to the common room for a nap, I don't feel…no, I'm fine. I'll see you later." I ripped my shoulder out of his grip and winced as the tattoo burned along with my guilt.

"Findabhair, you just got down here, you said you were starving. If your not going to let me look at your arm, the least you could do would be sit down and have some breakfast like a civilized human being." His voice rang with hurt and I saw Fred and George share a synonymous wince.

"Forget it, Oliver. I'll see you later. It's not you, I just don't feel well." I turned and raced out of the hall, pressing my arm to my stomach so I could feign an upset stomach if anyone tried to stop me.

"So…how are things?" I looked up from my book and saw Ernie perched on the corner of the table, trying his best to look innocent and unassuming. However, the heart-on-his-sleeve Hufflepuff never made it past woefully guilty. I sighed and snuck a Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured bean from my pocket and popped it in my mouth, chucking him one as soon as Madam Pince's attention was focused elsewhere.

"Things are fine, Ern. They're always-"

"-fine. But they aren't really, are they, Fin?" He lowered his voice and slid into the chair across from me, looking out one of the libraries large picture windows at the beautiful view beyond. Delaying, avoiding, just generally not wanting to bring up the damn subject that he'd come to talk about in the first place. _Come on, get it off your chest, Macmillan. Have a good shouting match with me about it…it's not like everyone else hasn't already beat you to the punch._ And they, of course, felt much better about themselves because of it…so much better in fact that they'd stopped talking to me.

I sighed again and followed his gaze: spring was doing an odd thing, trying to ensconce herself at Hogwarts before winter had properly gone on his way. It had been fairly warm and sunny these last few days, and the snow left odd balding patches on surrounding mountain peaks; golden sunlight turning the lake to glittering liquid gold and bathing our faces in it's warm light.

"Look at me, I'm fit as a fiddle. Other than that, there's really not much to comment on. Unless you want to have _that _conversation again, in which case I assure you I will throw myself out this window." The smooth, silky indifference in my voice had taken the last few weeks to perfect. Ernie made a strangled noise and cracked his head on the bookshelf behind him in a fit of frustration. Swearing and rubbing his skull, he glared at me in a very uncharacteristically malevolent manner.

"One of these days, Findabhair, I hope Oliver finds you up here sulking in the library instead of 'napping' in the common room-"

"Oh really? I thought you were backing Cedric to win my oh so exalted hand that _he doesn't want_." My merciless glare scared him into a mutinous and sullen silence. After a moment, I snapped my book shut and waved it at him threateningly. "And I am not _sulking_, I am _studying_."

I was studying, actually. And I had good reason to want to be alone, away from Oliver or the twins. People(Gryffindors) would…misunderstand(go ballistic) if I were to make my problems common knowledge. I shifted my arm a little and spread my fingers wide, stretching and wincing at the sharp pain that flickered through my arm like I'd been lifting weights all day. Letting people think I was moody and depressed was better than telling them the truth, that the dark mark was bothering me lately.

"You are sul-" Oh _shut up_, Ernie!

"If I had a knut for every time someone told me I was sulking in the last three bloody weeks, I'd melt them down into weights, attach those weights to your feet and then throw you in the lake!" I snarled viciously, watching his adorable little brown eyes widen in shock. Oh the horror, being threatened with violence.

"What are you studying, then?" He leaned over and tried to read the title of the aged manuscript. I quickly snatched it out from under his nose.

"A Hundred and One Foolproof Ways to Skin a Nosy Hufflepuffle. Go poke a dragon in the eye or something, I haven't got time for your rubbish." I snapped the wizarding equivalent of one of Jedda's favourite muggle phrases.

"You're in a vile mood."

Scowling at him, I reopened my book and tried to finish the passage I'd been reading on magical tattoos. It was all a load of rubbish! Fascinating, but essentially useless. It had been written long before Voldemort started marking the Deatheaters and hence failed to speculate on the exact nature of my condition. The only information that had been mildly useful was an extremely dog-eared page that dealt with the application of protean charms into blood-based ink. I reread this passage now and tried to ignore the graffiti at the bottom. Someone had written notes in a beautiful, flowing script at the corner: _can be combined with a simple beckoning spell fixed into the skin. _

"Findabhair-" Ernie distracted me and I shut the book with a snap, glaring at him.

"Would you please stop saying my full, galumphing nightmare of an appellation and go away?" My voice held an undercurrent of menace that was in and of itself alien to me. My arm spasmed like it didn't belong to me, bangles clanging together as I yanked it off the table and sat on my hand. As was typical, Ernie didn't even notice the twitch but slammed his own fist on the table.

"Like hell I will! Damn it, Fin! Since when did you decide to just give up!? Why did you hurt him, things are worse than ever now-"

"I didn't hurt him, Ernie-" I tried to force patience into my voice as I'd done when Val accused me of the exact same thing. Hurt Cedric, please, spare me. "I am dating Oliver Wood and living my own bloody love life, like _he _told me too-"

Cedric, it seemed, was doing his damnedest to drag me over the coals every waking moment of my life. If I was close to Oliver and he saw us, he'd wait until I was watching and virtually snog Cho unconscious. I'd told myself I didn't care, even when rumors of things much worse than kissing started to crop up in every conversation I took the liberty of eavesdropping on. But feigning indifference did not lessen my pain.

"He didn't tell you to be miserable!" Wailed the Hufflepuff, his voice getting louder and more obnoxious by the moment. "Even I cant take it anymore! There's no harmony-"

"Damn it, Ernie! Shut up! I am happy, damn you. We're all a big, happy love quartet!" I hissed venomously, hands clenching into fists. "I'm the happiest damn person in existence because I-! I'm damn happy, damn it!"

"Then why is Cedric suddenly mauling Cho in the hallways when before he'd blush if she so much as kissed his cheek, eh? Why is he acting so…not him!? What's wrong with--with-! WITH EVERYONE!?" People were starting to stare as Ernie collapsed onto the tabletop, his anger at the furious injustice of life spent in one terrific bellow. Clearly, I wasn't the only person suffering Cedric neglect.

"Oh look, now you've done it-" I forced myself to my feet as Madam Pince strode over with murder in her eyes. My arm jerked and I clenched my hand into a fist and tried to focus on the pain of my fingernails cutting into my palm instead of the dull, infected ache of the Dark Mark.

"Out! Get out of my library, the pair of you! Disrupting the peace, out!" One unnaturally skeletal finger pointed towards the door, her lips pursed. Ernie stood up and slouched in that direction as I picked up the history volume I'd been perusing and went to follow him, my tatto-ed arm quivering so badly I dropped it. That one slip was fatalistic: the ancient manuscript hit the unforgiving stone floor and the pages separated from their binding with a crack like brittle bone snapping.

Everyone who hadn't already been focused intently on the disturbance turned and gasped in shock. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of bushy hair, glasses, and a pale freckled face. Ah, no calamity could be complete without the fourth champion and his entourage. Ernie gulped so loudly it seemed to echo as I looked up at Madam Pince in horror. Her expression was positively livid, the noise she made halfway between a scream and a growl. I reached down and gathered up the ruined book, fumbling for my wand to cast a reparo charm before she took my head off.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'll just-OUCH! Ah, hell!" Fire lanced through my arm and instead of picking up the book like I had intended, I flung it away from me. This time, the pages split apart from the glue in an explosion of aged parchment. I didn't even notice. It was all I could do to keep from screaming as a sensation akin to someone slitting my wrist and splitting the bone underneath flashed through me.

"Swearing in my library-" Madam Pince was spitting over my pain, her face a brilliant red. It was almost as if the anger she felt was hard-wired to my nerves, as if her fury could feed mine. Maybe it was the pain, her tone of voice, or maybe it was a culmination of Cedric's infuriating behaviour and my friends lack of the ability to give a trolls backside…maybe it was even annoyance that there were so many witness's to my humiliation. Who knows. "That is unacceptable-"

"Sod off, you old hag." I spit in her face, literally _spit_, something I don't think anyone had dared to do to her since she began terrorizing library goers in the early eighteen hundreds. A very small, sensible part of me was screaming; but I took no heed of its desperate pleas that I regain my sanity. I turned to leave, trying to make my reluctant legs obey my command and still my wrist's terrible trembling.

"No-!" Someone cried from my left and my head snapped up just in time to see Potter making a concerned motion in Pince's direction as her bony fingers clenched on my ear and anger like I'd never known propelled my aching arm upward to jinx her at point-blank range. It was that fast, all taking place in a millisecond. All I knew was anger, even as she crumpled back against the shelf like a rag doll.

There was a moment of stunned silence. All I could hear was my own angry, huffing breaths as I fought to regain my composure. What had I just done?! Madam Pince was lying on the floor clutching her nose as blood trickled between her fingers and she looked up at me with horror. I couldn't meet her gaze, I couldn't meet any of their shocked and terrified gazes, clutching my left arm to my chest in an attempt to dull the pain. I was in agony and they couldn't see it, I couldn't explain it to them. I wanted to gnaw off my own arm and escape but I _couldn't_…

"Oh Merlin…FIN!" Ernie's yell grated on my ears as I fled from the library, my heart pounding as I raced down the hallway towards the infirmary. Ah! No, I couldn't make it that far; but that certainly didn't stop me from trying. Just a few more feet…no. I wasn't even going in the right direction, I was heading for the grounds, not the infirmary. Where was I? Lost and angry and hurting.

I staggered into a shadowed alcove and bit my lip until it bled. I could barely grip my wand in my right hand as I shucked off the bangles and stared in horror at what I saw: No longer was the mark a blurry, faded afterimage of a snake and skull. It was black, vividly inked and practically pulsing with power. It wasn't even that it hurt, it was this feeling of urgent delirium; that I needed to be somewhere, that I was being called…_Stop it, oh please stop it, Findabhair. Just get over yourself and try to figure out how the hell you're going to explain to Fiona that you got expelled for hexing the librarian._

I shuffled myself tighter into the grimy corner and lay my head against the cold stone, pressing my marked wrist into the wall and trying not to sob. It was not the agony of moments before, but it burned with a fevered soreness that even the cool masonry couldn't allay.

"_Calamexo_…AH! _Episkey_…" Nothing helped and I was fast losing consciousness. _Just faint…please just faint and nothing more…_

"O'Brien? Listen to me, O'Brien…wake _up_, you silly girl!" Snape? SNAPE! Unlike the Griffyn-lunatics, Ravenclaw's are not naturally predisposed to loathing the head of Slytherin house. In fact, Jedda's uncommonly fond of him, in a way that weirds the rest of us out. Nonetheless, it's still very bizarre to wake up to him shaking you like a rat and dousing you in cold bloody water-! With a shriek that cut off like someone had pressed a pillow to my face, I sat bolt upright and nearly clunked my head on a low-slung shelf. My hair was hanging in my eyes, dripping tendrils of gold that I brushed back from my face frantically with my right hand…Professor Snape was holding my left wrist in an iron grip and muttering to himself.

"Professor, I don't-" He shushed me and I winced as a particularly sharp stab of pain sliced through my arm. Urgh, it made me feel sick just to think of it. Instead, I focused my attention on the ceiling of the potions classroom and concentrated on slowing my breathing. A thousand questions raced through my mind, each as unanswerable as the last. I wished fiercely and ridiculously for Oliver to show up, and then felt immediately guilty, and then in pain-

"O'Brien, kindly do not move." Yes, O'Brien, shut up and let me poke and prod your aching arm.

"Sorry, but maybe if you told me what the hell was going on-" I ground out between gritted teeth, taking my arm back and examining it as he turned to fuss about with something in the cauldron. In looked better, actually. Less swollen and less bloody terrifying…maybe I'd just been imagining things after all-

"Severus! Severus, I really think you should…oh my Merlin." When I heard a voice that clearly wasn't professor Dumbledore's, I had hoped against hope that my ears had been deceiving me. But no, the anxious, deep accented voice belonged to the headmaster of the Bulgarian school, Kaka something-or-other. How terrifically unexpected and completely awkward. He stood there in the doorway, twisting his goatee so furiously between his fingers he looked mere seconds from tearing it off his pointed chin. To make matters worse, he was staring at me with a look of un-adulterated terror.

"Karkaroff, I believe we've already talked exhaustively about your own personal problem-" Personal problem? Had I not been so desperate to escape this uncomfortable predicament, I would have giggled. As it was, I felt a hysterical bubble of mirth tickle my throat as Snape cinched some sort of poultice tightly to my wrist.

"Good God, she looks nothing like Evan…" Karkaroff edged around the desks, peering at me like I was some sort of strange potion ingredient. Who on earth was Evan? "But of course she wouldn't, would she."

"Get out, Karkaroff." Snape snapped dismissively, ripping what looked like an old black robe into strips.

"What are you doing for her wrist? Does that dull it? Can I just see-" Severus slapped Karkaroff's hand away from the sodden mass he was tying to my left wrist. He shot Snape a frustrated look and then glanced at me for the first time. In a surprising show of timidity, he refused to meet my gaze as he spoke:

"Has your's been getting clearer?" Karkaroff had a dark mark? 'Your own personal problem' suddenly became that much clearer to me and lost it's somewhat humourous connotations. Overwhelmed, I settled on the honest answer:

"Yeah." I couldn't exactly pretend I didn't know why. Karkaroff nodded nervously and brushed a hand through his hair, sweat pouring down his face as he shot Snape an agitated look.

"See? Severus, we cant afford to-"

"O'Brien, out. Now." Snape finished tying the last strip around my arm. Whatever potion he'd doused the make-shift bandages in was amazing. The only problem was that I literally lost feeling in the entire arm. Still, far preferable to being in pain. Val had told me about something muggle dentists used that had a similar effect, something with an N. "O'Brien."

"Thanks, Professor." For an extremely disturbing and yet somehow helpful encounter. I hopped off his desk and glanced at Karkaroff, not sure what sort of farewell could possibly appropriate for a creepy man who was studying my face so closely.

"I suggest you make your way toward Professor Dumbledore's office before you do anything else. It would be best to explain your outburst to him so that he might silence Madam Pince before she can wreak too much panic and destruction. I will follow." Snape prompted from behind me. I nodded briefly and darted past Karkaroff, clutching my arm to my chest and staggering up the stairs.

"There's not a drop of Rosier blood in her, is there?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Karkaroff. Of course she doesn't look like Evan, you of all people should know that Rosier didn't live long enough to father any children." Instead of pausing in the stairwell to eavesdrop, I sped up. I didn't need to hear it and I got a sick twist of dread that was so strong it made me want to vomit just thinking about what they were saying.

Snape was right, I reached the statue of a griffin only to find Pince gabbling at light speed to Flitwick and Dumbledore. Apparently, her story of my grand misdeed couldn't wait to get up the stairs. It took an embarrassing half-hour to explain the outburst, throughout which she absolutely refused to believe a word of what I was saying until it was verified by Dumbledore. It was a hellish mess, the entire thing.

"Well, I suppose I shall have to content myself with a months worth of detentions then, shall I?" I sat slumped in a green armchair in front of Dumbledore's desk, perilously close to tears of exhaustion.

"Madam Pince, I really cant tell you how profoundly sorry-" I began, for the three hundredth time in a row.

"You attacked me, Ms. O'Brien. Remorse has nothing to do with it-"

"Irma, I think it's clear that Findabhair may not have been able to help her reaction. You may not find her apology sufficient, but the least you could do is accept it." Flitwick: My head of house hero. Madam Pince looked outraged to be addressed in such an informal and mildly belligerent way by an equal and looked down her quivering, beaky nose at me with utmost dislike.

"I will not except her apology. I want her banned from my library!" It was as I'd feared, the worst verdict had been passed. It was in that moment, Dumbledore was looking calm, Flitwick mutinous and Pince obdurate, that I decided _bugger it, I may as well, _and ripped off the bandages.

Pince gave a little shriek of fear and fell backwards off her chair as I slammed my forearm, wrist upwards onto Dumbledore's desk. The tattoo had normalized somewhat, but it was still fearsome to behold. Which is exactly how I wanted it.

"Findabhair-" Flitwick began nervously, his voice reaching that high squeakiness of anxiety that stung my ears.

"Professor Dumbledore," I turned my gaze on him. "This-My- mark has never been so clear. I'm not going to pretend I don't know why, or that I'm too stupid or too scared to hazard a guess. I don't really care. But having a mark that I cant help should not be enough to condemn me. I can take a few detentions sir, in fact, I'd be fine with having a months worth or so. But being banned from the library is intolerable-"

"Intolerance!? You dare to lecture any of us about intolerance!? Your parents were the kind of intolerant people that-" Madam Pince just couldn't let it go, could she? I was getting ready to shout at her, to tell her to get stuffed when a small, throat-clearing sound could be heard from the doorway.

"Irma, I do believe you have tortured Ms. O'Brien enough with your own intolerance. I do not think it fair that she be punished for her mother's numerous shortcomings-" What did Snape know about my mother? "-I think it best if she be escorted back to her dormitory so that she might get some much needed rest and not aggravate the…injury any further." I heard Madam Pince scoff at the word 'injury', glaring at me like I was a poisonous serpent. _She's a Muggleborn. A Mudblood._ The treasonous words remained mere thoughts in my head, but I knew that they were true.

I kept silent and avoided their gazes, even Dumbledore's. Especially Dumbledore's. Normally, I was quite fond of our headmaster. But he hadn't spoken once in my defense and the look he kept giving me…it was _piercing_. I shot a sideways glance at Snape and immediately regretted it, he was giving me that same intent glare. Clearing my throat, I sat up a little straighter.

"May I go now, Professor?"

"Ms. O'Brien, how opposed are you to leaving for your Easter holiday three days early?" Dumbledore spoke as I turned towards the door, ready to make my escape.

"I…are you punishing me?"

"Do not think of it as a punishment, merely a way to relax and refresh. It has not escaped my notice that you have been very troubled these past few weeks. Perhaps the piece of dark magic that resides in your Dark Mark is simply aggravated by sulphurous thought." Professor Dumbledore's gaze had softened by the tiniest fraction, but there was a brittleness about his calm that did not escape me. What was it? Anger? Doubt? I let my gaze shift to the others: Flitwick was wringing his hands, Madam Pince's face was frozen in a look so stern it barely matched her trembling knees, Snape merely looked as though he were trying very hard not to have any expression at all. _Fear_. Suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to be as far from them as humanly possible.

"I don't really care, sir. I just…can I please go?" Dumbledore nodded with a tired sigh and Snape bowed his head respectfully to him before turning and opening the door for me. I rushed down the spiral staircase ahead of him, nearly plowing into a gangly flash of glasses and scar that was waiting for me at the bottom.

"I've got to tell Dumbledore!" Harry's voice sounded positively shrill with panic.

"He's up there." I gestured vaguely over my shoulder before taking off towards Ravenclaw Tower. I couldn't deal with anymore of this, especially not the little savior of the wizarding world who was staring at me like I had a cancerous growth on my forehead.

Oh, the joys of being the daughter of two prominent Deatheaters.

**Post Author's Note:** _I think it should be noted that this chapter was ALMOST an Oliver's POV chapter that had something to do with Fin's absolute hatred for Valentines day. This of course, goes right over darling Olive's head…but that chapter/idea was distracting and only mildly entertaining. I figured (though the seriousness is a bit of a depart from the general mood) this needed to be the next chapter. However, if you would like to read something from Oliver's pov, I have a few SCK related drabbles and chunks that are Oliver related. Eventually, I'll get around to posting the randomness. For now, I must maintain CONSTANT VIGILANCE!! But, you get the idea…don't forget to review! And uber-thanks!_


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note:** _HOLY QUIDDITCH! I'm updating again! Yeah, sorry for the wait guys, I've just been so busy with college and stuff. Bloody hell, COLLEGE. What on earth, right? But yeah, here's the chapter, sorry for the abandonment scare...remember to review and remind me your alive! ;D_

"I think it's kind of good that your leaving early, Fin. You really need to just relax, you've been just…hovering on a different plane of existence. It's not good for you…" Valerie licked a bit of marmalade off her golden spoon, almost completely oblivious to Yegor(Durmstrang twat) nuzzling her neck. I abruptly lost my appetite, carefully pushing my porridge over to the center of the table and averting my eyes. Oliver, sitting to my left and practically on top of me, shrugged and started wolfing it down.

"Ismm'Edricoferleeoo?" He asked with his mouthful.

"Yes, he is. Fiona and Amos want him to come home, they say the tournaments taking its toll and he needs time to wind down just as much as I do." I murmured quietly, trying to avoid a confrontation. My head was pounding and I really should have been studying for my NEWT's, but I just couldn't face the astronomical amount of work I had to do today. I was just…too tired. Of everything.

"Right." Fred rolled his eyes. "Diggory's not the one going around with a black bandaged left wrist-"

"I got bulbo tuber pus on me!" The jug of pumpkin juice nearly went flying as I leapt up from the bench, abruptly furious.

"Oi! Calm down, Fox! I was only saying that-"

"Fred, it's no use trying to tell her that she's worse off then he is. The inbred pureblood mania is singing in her veins-" Jedda began with that lazy, self-assured tone that drove me up the wall. I opened my mouth to snarl back something foul, since when was it a crime to be a pureblood, anyway?

"No." Someone was embracing me, holding me still until the angry tension in my shoulders abated. Oliver cradled me so that I could hide my furious expression against his chest, could suck in great gasps of air heady with his Old Spice scent. "Not now, Findabhair. Your fine…just breathe, love."

I wasn't fine, not at all. The only one I could have gone to wasn't interested in speaking to me, much less consoling me. There was no mother who I could owl with my boy troubles. I could only imaine the conniption fit Amos would have if he received an owl from his 'daughter' professing her romantic, emotional turmoil over his son. He'd turn purple and implode, go completely apoplectic. The tears that had started to spill down my cheeks felt cool against my fevered skin as a hysterical giggle burst from my lips, hardly muffled by Oliver's sweater.

"You can be a real _ejit_, you know that?" Oliver snapped at Jedda. I couldn't see her face, but I'm sure her expression ranged from scandalized to downright furious. "Come on."

I let Oliver guide me out of the crowded, noisy great hall; feeling sick to my stomach. He was being sweet, in that gut-wrenching way that made me ill with guilt. He cunningly(for a Gryffindor) steered me down a side passage to detour around Mad-eye Moody. We ended the little jaunt in one of the courtyards and I let Oliver pull me down beside him at the base of an large willow. The curtain of leaves did something to keep the rain from soaking us.

"That was slick, avoiding Moody like that." I pointed out, trying my best to pick a safe subject.

"Avoiding Moody? I didn't even notice he was there." He muttered, reaching up to stroke my hair back from my face nervously.

"I think he probably saw us, though. You know that eye of his-" I exaggerated my eye roll, urging him to take the bait.

"Stop that, Findabhair. I'm worried about you-"

"I don't know why, it's not as though I feel the same way." Oh, that was harsh. But I was scared, so scared. Cedric knew about the mark, he didn't care, didn't even mention it. Oliver couldn't, I'd heard how he spoke of the Slytherins. He'd give me that same scared, angry look. I had no doubt that life for mud bloods-_muggleborns_-had once been this filled with senseless guilt and fear, but that didn't quell my resentment. What crime had been committed purely by my birth to two parents of pure lineage.

"Findabhair, whatever it is, you can trust me. Just tell me so I can help you." Oliver had maybe a few drops of muggle blood in his veins but he still abhorred anything even remotely purist. I'd lose him as surely as the Chudley Cannons would lose their next three quidditch matches. Panic gripped me and I pulled away from him, refusing to meet his eyes

"Cedric. I need Cedric."

"You have to go already?" The question was bitter on Oliver's lips.

"You know what I mean. I really just don't…feel well right now. It's something I have to deal with on my own-" I turned away from him and clutched the pounding pain in my arm.

"Fin! There you are…Oliver." Cedric stood on the threshold of one of the archways, slightly obscured by the misty rain and long, leafy branches. Relief that was so strong it was like the end of a hard quid ditch practice nearly sent me to my knees. Heedless of the rain and all the past Cho-snogging and preference, I rushed across the green and threw myself at him.

"Wha-ow, Findabhair, are you alright?" Oh, Merlin. Cedric. Sweet, sweet relief. I stood on my tip toes and pressed my face to his neck.

"No," The croak that tainted my voice was pathetic. "I'm not alright. I want to go home. Now."

"The mark? Dumbledore said-" Immediately, he understood what I meant.

"I don't want to hear what Dumbledore said, I just want to go home." Pain lurked in the back of my throat and tears threatened.

"Alright. Mum and Dad are here to apparate home with us. Go sit down over there and let me have a word with Oliver." Cedric murmured grimly, gently pushing me in the direction of a bench. I grabbed his wrist before he could venture out into the courtyard.

"Just a word. Then I want to go…don't tell him any details." He nodded and I released him, collapsing onto the stone bench and cradling my arm to my chest. I slumped against the windowsill…

I sat at the kitchen table and peeled away at a croissant, savoring the buttery pastry on my tongue. In fact, I was so intent on my meal that I didn't notice Cedric until he reached across the table and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl. Normally, I wouldn't have even looked up, but his time, I looked. Holy Merlin.

"Cedric…" I blinked and watched him as he went to the sink to wash his apple "What are you doing?"

"Getting an apple." He snorted, taking a huge bite and leaning casually against the counter.

"No," I took a deep breath to steady myself. "What are you doing without any clothes on?"

"I'm wearing a towel." He rolled his eyes. My brain was short-circuiting so badly the croissant was tasting dry in my mouth. He was gorgeous, way more gorgeous then any teenage wizard had a right to be. His pale skin glistened with moisture from the shower. I could smell the scent coming off his chest and it made me giddy. STOP IT! I shouted at myself mentally and took a huge bite of croissant to block out the weird thoughts I was having. I swallowed without chewing…

"Fin! Cough! Come on, cough!" Ced walloped me on the back and I hacked up a chunk of croissant that flew across the kitchen.

"Umm…yuck." I choked out, gasping. Whoa, he was so close to me…maybe I should choke again…Crap! Focus! Findabhair, focus! Remember the essentials: Breathing, chewing, swallowing, blinking, using coherent thoughts and speech.

"You're going to kill yourself one of these days if you don't remember to chew." He grabbed either side of my jaw and worked it up and down. If I had any power over my thoughts, I would have told him to bugger off. But right now, the ignoble side of my brain was telling me that the essentials mattered very little in the general scheme of things. Merlin, he smelled so good.

"Cedric, you stink!" I snapped, shoving him away. My fingers grazed his skin and I bit my lip, trying to stop savoring every little bit of contact. "And you're all wet! Blech." I wiped my hands on a dish towel.

"I did just get out of a shower. Besides, look at what your wearing: Skimpy little pair of shorts and a tank top-" His tone of voice was joking, but I took the words to heart.

"Bet you'd like it if it was Cho wearing them and not me." I snapped back, croissant completely forgotten in my disgust.

"Maybe I would! And you'd probably enjoy it to if you could see Oliver in just a towel when he got out of the shower." He slammed the fridge door and took a huge swig of pumpkin juice straight from the carton. I was so furious with him that I forgot to really focus on what I was saying.

"No, actually I wouldn't!" I shut my mouth and stared at the table. It was true.

"You…oh. Are you two having a row?" He asked, abruptly contrite.

"No," I spoke slowly, sitting back down. "I just…well, I don't really like him."

"Oh, okay then. Why are you…?" He trailed off and made a random gesture.

"I don't want to hurt his feelings. He's been a really great friend and it doesn't seem fair that I should just flat out refuse him." I said lamely, taking another small bite of croissant. Cedric eyed me for a moment, sitting down across from me and pouring a glass of pumpkin juice.

"You like somebody else, don't you?" He asked softly, and I felt my stomach twist. Oh no.

"Oh, it's not that." I said quickly, "It's just not how I feel about Oliver."

"He must be dating another girl, right?" Cedric nudged me and gave me one of those winning smiles. _It's you!_ I wanted to scream at him. _I love you!_ But I was too much of a coward.

"No! I just…well, it's not that…I kind of…he doesn't…Well, Katie Bell-" I began fabricating the story in my head. "She likes Oliver, you see? So I feel guilty about liking him-"

"But you don't like Oliver." Cedric looked confused.

"Yeah…but I do! But not in the same way as…it's complicated. Really more of a girl thing, you know?" I tried desperately to distract him. "Good pumpkin juice, isn't it?"

"Fin, you haven't even had a sip of it." He rolled his eyes and handed me the glass. I took a giant sip and nearly choked again, trying to smile at him.

"Well, it is good." I muttered, nearly drowning in the stuff.

"Yeah, but you don't have to inhale it. Are you feeling okay? Oliver hasn't…I don't know, come on strong to you or anything, has he?" Cedric reached out and caught my wrist, stopping me on my way to the sink.

"What?" The idea of Oliver being _that_ pushy was ridiculous. "No, of course not."

"Why are you so nervous?" He persisted.

"How's Cho?" I asked, my fingers tightening unconsciously on the glass I was holding. With a loud pop, it shattered and shards of glass stuck into my palm. "OW!"

"Findabhair! Love!" Fiona was in the kitchen in a second, making me think that she'd been eavesdropping on us for a while before I cut myself. Cedric grabbed my hand and surveyed the damage.

"I'm alright! I just cut myself! I'll be fine!" I cried, ignoring a wave of nausea as I saw the crimson blood splatter across the white kitchen tile.

"_Extractem_! There, darling." She pulled the bits of glass from my hand and pressed her wand to the criss-cross slices. "_Episkey_!"

"Thanks," I murmured, letting Ced drag me over to the sink and rinse off the blood. "I'm okay, Ced, I've got it."

"What's wrong with you?" He hissed, ignoring me and gently bathing my hands in the cool water.

"I'm fine." I whispered back, trying to be off-hand about the whole thing. I felt faint and started to list off to the right, laying my cheek against his bare shoulder.

"Fin, no! Come on." Cold water splashed in my face and I groaned, leaning over the sink.

"I'll handle it, Cedric." Fiona said, pushing in between us. "Now, go get some clothes on ."

"It's called a towel-" He began indignantly.

"Out!" She shoved him out of the kitchen and turned back to me, handing me a dish towel. I took it gratefully, drying my hands. A couple of deep, steady breaths was all it took to clear my head.

"So…Amos and I were thinking of you and Cedric…" I looked up at her as I mopped up the blood, trying to figure out where she was going with this 'thinking of you and Cedric' business. "Well, we thought it might be nice if we met these friends of yours."

"Oh…" Whew. "Oliver and Cho?"

"Exactly. I know Oliver vaguely from when you were first years together, but this Chow girl-"

"Cho." I resisted the urge to burst out laughing. Chow. That was great!

"Oh yes, well, you know what I mean. You don't seem so fond of her, love. Why?" She put a hand on my shoulder and I sighed, dropping the towel in the sink and moving over to the table to grab the carton of juice and stow it in the fridge.

"Cho Chang's not a very nice person." There was the understatement of the millennia. "I mean, she's pretty and she's nice to the adults; but otherwise, she really isn't worth Cedric."

"Hmm, you're probably right. Regardless, I'd still like to meet her and the Oliver boy. Amos has off tomorrow, they can come for lunch." Cho Chang and Oliver Wood over for lunch? How many attempts on their lives would they would have to suffer? Instead of saying this aloud, I just looked over at her and beamed.

"Sure, I'll send out the owls tonight!"

"How are those biscuits?" Fiona Diggory loved to cook and any occasion that gave her the excuse to bring out the good tablecloth meant celebration.

"They look done." Amos opened the oven and they whizzed out, dropping into a bowl beside her elbow. She pinched one between her thumb and forefinger.

"Perfect! Oh, Findabhair, you look beautiful!" I looked down at myself and tried to gauge whether or not she was being sarcastic or just trying to make herself feel better about forcing me to don a sundress.

"Can I please just wear jeans, please?" I pleaded, plucking at the ugly thing. It was pale blue(yuck, blue) with white floral print over it. The only way it possibly could have been more hideous was if it was paisley. I would have asked Cedric to stab me.

"Not today. You always wear jeans."

"Because I look good in jeans! But this dress looks like a daisy was violently sick all over it."

"What do you mean 'I look good in jeans'?" Amos glared at me shrewdly and I sighed. Apparently, Fiona was more in the know about her children's relationships than Amos. She didn't mind me having a boyfriend just as Amos didn't mind Cedric having Cho. And lets just say Ced hadn't been very 'forgiving' when he described Oliver. Amos Diggory was under the impression I was dating Hogwart's biggest, stupidest and most teenage Quidditch jock.

"Nothing, Dad." I muttered and gave Fiona a pleading look. "Please! I know these people!" I tried to convey the point there and gave Fiona a very insistent look. She got it.

"Oh, alright! If you must." I threw my arms around her neck and hugged her before racing back up to my room. I nearly bumped into Cedric as I was climbing the stairs. I stepped down and just stared at him for a second.

"What hideous species of animal curled around your neck and died?" I eyed his really revolting tie dubiously.

"Why is every conversation we have lately about what I'm wearing?" He asked angrily, pushing past me.

"But Ced, it's pink with purple spots! Not even purple, like pink and red and neon blue all mixed together. It's urple." I said, hooking two fingers under his collar and yanking him back. "Let me fix it."

"It doesn't need fixing! Fix it and Cho will kill me! She made it for me." I took one look at his desperate and disgusted expression and burst out laughing. "Oh, yes! Have a good laugh, why don't you! Ms. Daisy chain queen!"

"I'm going upstairs to change." I shot back, snickering as I ran up the steps.

"Hang on, why do _you _get to change?" His voice carried up to me as I dashed into my room and locked the door behind me, stripping off the ugly dress and throwing on a pair of plain blue jeans and a green blouse. Cedric and I had long ago learned the fine art of dressing like muggles. So much so that we'd actually developed our own unique _style. _I favored jeans and the slinky type of casual clothing that could be worn almost anywhere and still be appropriate for the occasion. Cedric had a natural talent for picking out clothes that looked good on him, or maybe it was simply that he looked good in _everything _he wore. Even the hideous tie gave me ideas…ideas that involved yanking him around by the neck so I could…GET MY MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER! I groaned in disgust at myself, Roger's perverted mind was starting to wear off on me the more time I spent in the common room hiding from Oliver. Rolling my eyes, I slid my feet into a pair of flip-flops, wiggling my toes experimentally before flip-flopping over to the bathroom. I snatched my brush off the counter and yanked the elastic out of my hair, letting it fall down to my waist before brushing it out straight.

"They're here!" Fiona cried, and I threw aside the brush and rushed out of the bathroom smacking into Cedric again, who'd just changed out of his dress clothes. He'd still kept the tie, though, and glared at me as if daring me to snicker again. I would have, but Fiona got louder. "Cedric? Fin?"

"Coming, Mum!" We dashed down into the living room as Oliver helped Cho out of the fireplace. Cho tossed her head so that her dark hair fell over one shoulder and launched into her I'm-so-sweet act.

"Finny!" She cried in a delighted voice, throwing her arms around my neck and giving me a huge hug. I cringed and returned the hug clumsily.

"Hi, Cho." I said, giving Cedric a look of the greatest evil intention.

"Cho." He tapped on her shoulder and she turned around and leapt at him exuberantly. She then stepped back and gave him a weird glare.

"What?" He asked innocently, plucking at the tie. She spared him one more peculiar look before launching back into the act.

"Oh! How cute! You both match!" She gestured from me to Ced.

"Oh, um…that was an accident." I said, only just noticing Cedric's hunter green sweater and blue jeans.

" But why are you wearing this tie with it?" She asked him, treating me as though I didn't exist. Fine. Two could play at this game.

"Oh!" I gushed, trying to prevent the sarcasm from leaking out in my tone. "That's his favorite tie! He wouldn't have worn it at all with those clothes, but I said: How _sweet_ would it be if you wore the tie she made you? I thought you'd just _love _that, Cho."

"Well, you're always _so _considerate, Findabhair!" She shot back, her plastic smile twitching at the corners.

"Why thanks, Cho!" I beamed at her. "You're always so _nice _and _genuine_-"

"So!" Cedric said loudly, interrupting me. "Mum, Dad? This is my girlfriend, Cho Chang."

Deep inside, I felt a little part of my heart break. Cho. Despicable, slimy, toad's spawn for brains Cho Chang being introduced as Cedric's girlfriend. And Amos looked so proud of Cedric that he might burst into song. At least Fiona was slightly more reserved as she greeted evil personified and cunningly disguised as a teenage witch. After welcoming her, they all sort of turned towards me expectantly. Oliver nudged me with his elbow when I just stood there, clearing his throat emphatically.

"Wha-Oh, right! Um, this is Oliver!" I said, forcing excitement into my voice as I went through the motions. "Oliver, my boyfriend. Oliver Wood."

"Hello, Oliver!" Amos held out a hand to him and they exchanged the kind of handshake men use when trying to break each other's fingers. Fiona, however, looked very pleased as Oliver took her hand and placed a gallant kiss on her knuckles.

"Oh, you've grown so much! So tall! What a handsome, sweet boy!" She giggled in girlish manner and preened delighted as she lead the way through the house. Oliver took my arm and I gave him an appraising look.

"What?" He whispered, grinning at me shamelessly.

"You've been practicing your gallant chivalry, haven't you?"

"Fred and George helped."

She laughed and lead us all out to the yard where there was a picnic table laden with food. I took a seat across from Ced and Cho as Fiona served us, chatting away merrily to herself.

"So then," Amos began, looking over at me. "You and Cho are both exceptionally clever girls: Both Quidditch players, both Ravenclaws. Anyone would think you'd be the best of friends-"

I choked on my mouthful of casserole and everyone panicked for a moment before Amos whipped out his wand and used _'anappeo'_ to clear my airway. I took a huge gasp and swallowed a gigantic swig of cider before speaking.

"Thanks." I hurried to change the subject: "So Dad, Oliver's the Quidditch Captain for Gryffindor House. He's a Keeper."

"Played against you both, then, has he?" Amos was clearly having trouble keeping his voice polite. I gulped and looked over at Cedric, who surprisingly looked grimly gleeful. He grinned at Oliver as he cut away a piece of chicken breast, brandishing the knife under Oliver's nose.

"Beat you last year, though, didn't we?" Cedric said casually. "Pass the salt?"

Oliver looked as though he gladly would have taken the salt and thrown it in Cedric's eyes as he thrust it at him from across the table. I cleared my throat and gave Ced a very annoyed look.

"But everyone knows that was a total accident-" I tried to save the situation.

"Yeah, but Ravenclaw beat Gryffindor fair and square in that game the year before last-" Ced shot back, glaring at me.

"Right! But Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff-" Oliver elbowed me in the stomach at this point and I ignored him.

"Only because you got in the way of those two bludgers!" Cho was tugging on Cedric's elbow and trying to get his attention.

"Which shouldn't have been aimed like that anyway-" The argument was starting to get heated.

"Cedric Diggory and Findabhair O'Brien, you stop fighting this instant!" Fiona snapped loudly over Cedric's comeback.

"Now, now! They were just being a little competitive, that's all!" Amos chuckled and smiled at us both.

"Great potato salad, Mum." Cedric grumbled, glaring at me. What was he playing at?

"Yeah, this casserole is great, Mum." I forked a huge mouthful and shoved it in my mouth.

"Well, thank you, love; but your brother made that casserole." I stopped and swallowed hard, scowling at Ced's crooked smirk. I dropped my fork so it clinked loudly against the plate and sat back.

"You know, I think I'll just have a roll." I said lightly, plucking one from the basket and buttering it.

"You do that." Cedric's face fell and he glared at me.

"Oh, I will."

"So, how did you meet Chow?" Fiona asked, smiling at her son. Oliver snorted into his pumpkin juice so hard it sprayed across the table.

"Oh…I don't know, _Cho _sort of met me." Cedric said offhandedly, casting me a sly look out of the corner of his eye. "We've only known each other for about a year."

"Oh." Fiona looked like she'd been expecting a different answer. Cho was gaping at him as though he'd just smacked her in the face.

"How did you meet this Otis boy, then, Findabhair?" It was difficult to see who was trying harder to outdo who at the moment: Fiona and Amos or Cedric and I. Cho tittered appreciatively and I shot her a murderous look.

"I met _Oliver_ in our first year and we've been friends ever since. Apparently, he's liked me forever and only just got up the courage to ask me out this year. He's the perfect boyfriend." I kept my tone carefully polite and tried not to take to much happiness out of the fact Cedric looked like he was going to be sick into his precious casserole.

"Now, Amos. Isn't that how we met in school? It's so sweet!" Fiona cooed , beaming at a blushing Oliver. It was clear by the expression on Amos Diggory's face that he couldn't have been more in disagreement.

"So, boy." Amos grumbled, glaring at Oliver. "What do you plan to do with yourself after school?"

"Sorry?" Oliver looked confused.

"Dad!" I hissed quietly, returning his furious glare.

"A job! What will you do for a job after you graduate?" Amos barked.

"Oh," Oliver cast me a funny look out of the corner of his eye. I tried to mouth the word 'ministry' at him but Cedric kicked me under the table. Ow! "Well, I've tried out for a couple of professional Quidditch teams. I'm waiting for a reply from Puddlemere United Reserve, actually." Oh, Oliver, why? That was the kiss of death right there.

"That's very ambitious." Fiona said politely, tugging on Amos's arm.

"Yes. Ambitious…but unrealistic." Amos begrudged, glaring at Oliver. I slammed my glass back down and glared at my foster father. Amos looked astounded, I never got angry like that. I turned and stared into Cho's falsely innocent smile.

"What do you plan to do, Cho?" My voice was sickening it was so sweet. "Oh, I know! You wanted to be a Medi-Witch, don't you? Study charms as a back up plan? How about that, Dad? Cool, isn't it?" I had to leave or I would lose it.

"You'll make Cedric a lovely husband someday, Cho." Oliver said in a deceptively offhand tone. Cho's false laugh tinkled like breaking glass as she stared him down, eyes burning into his.

"And with a job as a Quidditch player, you'll practically be a housewife." She shot back, just an edge of anger to her sweet voice. I stood up at the same time as Ced and grabbed Oliver's plate, regardless of the fact that he hadn't finished eating. My hands were shaking so badly bits of shredded carrot were flying everywhere.

"You know, I think I'll do the dishes." I said loudly, reaching for Cedric and Cho's plates.

"I think I'll join you." Cedric replied lightly, scowling at me.

"That's really not necessary." Reaching for his plate, I shook my wrist out of Oliver's grasp. I turned my back and marched back into the house and dropped the plates into the sink with a clatter. I heard him enter behind me and whipped around. "What the hell are you playing at?"

"Nothing. Just showing you how much I welcome Oliver, just like you did to Cho."

"Oh, that's rich!" I laughed harshly, snatching the plates away from him and dumping them in the sink.

"It's not like you behaved any better than I did!"

"So what? We have to both be immature now? Can't I be the only one?" I snarled out of the corner of my mouth, glaring at him from where he leaned against the fridge, fuming.

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"Why don't you figure that out for yourself, Cedric!"

"Why are we fighting?"

"I could ask you the same thing." I slammed the dishes into the drying rack.

"It's _You_! Why do you have to date Oliver Wood?" He threw up his arms and shouted at the ceiling.

"Why do you have to date Cho Chang? And what did Oliver ever do to you?" Cedric didn't seem to have an answer for that, but stood there gaping at me for a moment. Then he seemed to regain control of his mouth:

"Are you crying?"

"No, I'm not! I just hate it when we fight!" I sobbed angrily, shoving the silverware back in the drying wrack. Then, he was hugging me. I cried softly into his shoulder, crying for all the things that were, and for how things should have been. How could I be so happy and so sad at the same time?

"Shush, Fin. It's okay. I don't mean any of it, you know that. I'm just frustrated, please forgive me. Please?" He stroked my hair and I dropped the fork I was holding and looked up at his face. He was so perfect, so attractive it was heart-wrenching. How could I ever be worth that? Maybe I could fast-forward in time and see us all in twenty years: Cedric and Cho Diggory alongside Oliver and Findabhair Wood. Just the thought made me feel sick.

"It's alright…I mean, siblings fight all the time." Siblings? The anger overflowed and burst from my throat:

"Bugger OFF!" I shrieked, shoving him away.

"What did I say? What is _wrong_ with you?" He gasped, staring at me in shock. He moved towards me and I grabbed my wand from the table and held it out in front of me.

"You just don't understand!" I gasped, shaking my head and trying to stop crying. I turned and fled, racing up the stairs.

"Then help me to understand, damn you!" He shouted as I slammed my door, his footfalls heavy on the stairs. I slid the latch into place and flicked my wand at the knob before wedging myself between my dresser and the wall, the tiniest, darkest little corner I could find.

"Findabhair! Open the door!" My door shuddered with impact as he slammed his shoulder against it. I wailed, crying my bloody eyes out. I hated him and I was just so angry! WHY? "Findabhair…please. I'm sorry. Let me-"

"Don't you dare come near me! Don't tell me your sorry! Just stay away from me!" I screamed back, the action like a thousand knives on my tortured throat. That stopped him for a moment. I heard him take a deep breath and stop, take a step back from my door. No, I wanted him to keep trying to get in, to break down my door and sweep me into his arms and force me to hear his apology.

"Fine." Stiff, angry and formal. Good, that made it easier for me to pretend to hate him. To convince myself it was a bad match, that I had to let go. That he just thought of me as some lame foster sibling. I sobbed harder, grabbing a cushion to drown out my frustrated scream. I was dimly aware of Cedric talking to someone just outside my door, his voice low and furious. I cried for a long time, cried until I ran out of tears.

"Findabhair?"

"What?" I croaked, trying to identify the voice just outside my door.

"Are you alright?" Oliver knocked on my door gently and rattled the door knob. "Can I come in?""Yeah." I sniffed, walking shakily to the door and unlocking it for him. I opened it and he stood there, looking sheepish and smiling weakly at me, as though he were also on the verge of tears. I threw my arms around him, more grateful for his presence then I'd ever been in my entire life. He held me back and I pressed my cool cheek to his shirt, my voice breaking. "I'm sorry, Oliver."

"No. Don't cry. It's okay, Findabhair. Don't be sad. Shush." I sniffled a little more and perked up. Cedric was playing the piano downstairs, playing well. But what kind of song was that? Cho's mellifluous voice was singing along to the melody.

"The song is unbearable, I couldn't take it anymore." Oliver rolled his eyes as I took his hand and lead him downstairs and into the living room. Cedric stopped playing but did not turn around as we entered the room. Cho broke off abruptly, her expression darkening from an angelic smile to a black look.

"Oh! There you are, love! Just in time to show Oliver your violin." Amos was busily removing the instrument from its case, a broad grin on his features. Fiona smiled tensely at me, trying to subtly nudge her husband into realizing my discomfort.

"I don't think this song has a part for a violin, dad."

"Yes, it does. At the end." Cedric shocked me by speaking very softly, not looking at me. Not speaking to me but to his father. Figured.

"Would you like your sister to play it?"

"She's not my sister, Mum. She can play it if she wants, it's her choice." I winced at the coldness of his tone and snatched the bow from Amos's hands.

"Yeah, I'll play." I took the violin and set it under my chin, looking over Ced's shoulder at the notes I had to hit. As his fingers began to plink softly at the keys, I drew the bow across the strings and the instrument uttered a long, quavering note that slid backwards and forwards in four aching, keening tones. I drew the bow across quickly for the stabbing, dramatic end and let the sorrowful noise reverberate around the small room. Cedric and Cho finished it together, her beautiful voice humming as his fingers played the last note. It was fitting.

"Jolly good!" Amos clapped enthusiastically as Cedric took his hands off the keys and I moved the violin from under my chin. Cho dipped into a delicate curtsy and giggled the perfect giggle. I dipped my head briefly and tried to catch Cedric's eyes. He looked up at me and glared. I winced but couldn't look away, a tear sliding down my cheek. Was it my imagination, or did his face soften just a little?

"You know, if you move the stick fast enough, it's actually quite a happy instrument." Oliver grinned at me.

"Right, but I'm not really in the mood-" The words were barely out of my mouth when Cedric had started to play the first chords of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. It was obviously a signal that the happy part of the already miserable lunch was officially over. He wanted to be alone, a sonata is a classical composition for a solo instrument.

"Apparently neither is he." Oliver muttered under his breath as the sorrowful tune permeated the room. He stared intently at the keys, even when Cho rested a hand on his shoulder, he didn't look up. It wasn't the kind of song that made you stricken with grief, but the understated sadness hinted at a deep and lasting pain. The images of Cho Diggory and Findabhair Wood dashed through my brain unbidden and I winced as he played the last notes.

"Well…" Fiona said awkwardly, clapping her hands together and rubbing them.

and threw aside the knife and burst out the back door, sprinting out across the yard and towards the woods.

"Findabhair?" Fiona called from behind me and I heard the clattering sound as someone got up from the table and ran after me. I choked back the sobs as I fought my way through the grasping branches and briars, what a horrible idea! And now I was fighting with him! Because he was too stupid to see that I loved him! It was all so STUPID!

"Oh, there you are, love. You should see him off then." She said quickly, avoiding my eyes. " I'm so sorry about today, dear. Just a bad time, I suppose. It was good to meet you." She added to Oliver, proffering the small bag of floo powder to him. He thanked her and cast me a longing look before he left.

I fell back on the couch and let out a groan as Fiona sat down beside me. She rubbed my back in tiny circles and stroked my hair, shushing me quietly. After a few minutes of this, she spoke.

"What's wrong? I'm going to refrain from asking you this in the motherly way, since I'm not your mother." She said carefully, drawing away so she could see my face.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"All Cedric could tell us was that every time he refers to you as his sister, you get upset with him. Why is that?" Fiona's ruffled hair fell into her warm brown eyes, her gentle expression made softer by her rounded features. For barely a second before I dismissed it, I wished I was looking into my real mother's eyes; those shocking steel gray irises of my childhood. But then I shook my head, my real mother was dead and buried, a horrible person who never could have looked at me with as much love as Fiona did.

"Nothing's wrong, I don't know what your talking about." I said quickly, staring into her eyes. She was quiet for a moment, and I could tell she didn't believe me.

"You remind me so much of your mother when she was your age. She wasn't always a Death Eater, you know." Her laughter was without humor, a sad little hollow sound. Fiona never talked about my parents, let alone my mother; and the issue had always been a very touchy one. It was a surprise to me that she mentioned it now. Fiona shifted and pulled a leather bound book out from under the couch and untied the leather thongs that held it shut. I'd always known where I could find a picture of my parents, but I had never looked. The prospect had always been so terrifying for me. "We were the best of friends, your mother and I. Mhm, I can see why you'd be surprised. She was very popular-" The dusty photo album fell open in her hands and she flipped the pages until she came to one of two girls pushing and shoving in order to make faces at the camera. Fiona was easy to spot, with her nut-brown complexion and kind eyes.

And there, jostling Fiona playfully, was Belinda Sinclaire. My mother. Her long, golden blonde hair fell to her waist, falling over her gray eyes and angular face. She was beautiful, her pale pink lips spread wide in a perfect, timeless smile. Her figure was tall and lissome, a prefects badge shining on her breast.

"You have her hair, and her laugh." Fiona was still speaking in the same bittersweet voice.

"What happened to her? How did she get to be…so awful?" I stared at the pages, transfixed by picture after picture of my mother and Fiona. My favorite was one where Belinda danced around in the rainy courtyard at Hogwarts, her dripping hair whipping around her face as she cast the camera a winning smile.

"Your mothers story is so very, very sad, Findabhair. Belinda was capable of some of the deepest sorrow imaginable, and she loved with all her heart. It's what killed her, in the end." Fiona turned the page before coming to rest on what looked like a class portrait. I searched along the rows of students and my heart kept skipping beats every time I came across a face I recognized. A regal pair of blondes that were easily recognizable as the Malfoy's, a freckled and grinning Mr. Weasley, a boy who looked remarkably like Harry, a greasy-haired youth that could only have been Severus Snape…then there was a boy who I didn't recognize, standing next to my mother, an arm around her shoulder. He was incredibly good-looking, with longish, russet hair and startling green eyes.

"Who is that?" I asked Fiona, reaching out to touch the picture, ignoring how all the little figures shrugged away from me.

"That was your mothers boyfriend.""My father?"

"Oh no, Blake O'Brien is right here." She shook her head and pointed to another boy standing next to a younger version of Lucius Malfoy. This boy did not smile, but stared at the camera as though all he wanted to do was yank out his wand and blow it to pieces. His dark looks showed not a hint of any emotion but malice and as I watched, the corner of his mouth curved up into a grin and he seemed to snarl at the camera instead of smile.

"So, what was his name?" I pointed back to the one who stood beside my mother. Fiona smiled and looked down at the picture proudly, sniffing a little.

"That was Rabastan Lestrange. Oh, he and Belinda loved each other so much."

"What happened to him?" I didn't like the sound of that was. Fiona looked down at me, as if trying to gauge if I was ready to hear what she had to tell me.

"He was attacked by auror's while imperiused and they…well, they-" Fiona let out a very quiet sigh. "They killed him."

I stared at the picture of this sweet, smiling boy. He leaned in to nuzzle my mothers neck and her open mouthed smile was frozen in time, full of joy. They had made a stunning pair. Fiona turned the page to a clip from the Daily Prophet entitled: **HIT-WIZARDS KILL WRONG LESTRANGE TWIN.**

"Your mother, she blamed the ministry. For months she wouldn't eat or drink, she was constantly sick. This is the last picture I have of her before we graduated and went our separate ways. She never laughed again after Rabastan died." Fiona pointed to a small picture in the corner of the album page.

"Who's that?"

"That's her." Fiona said, tapping the picture. This woman looked nothing like my mother on the previous pages, her face gaunt and deathly pale. Purple circles swooped low under her eyes and she started sharply as Blake O'Brien clapped his hands down on her shoulders and grinned possessively. The younger version of Fiona stood off to the side and kept shooting Blake anxious glances. For all intents and purposes, there was an empty shell standing there.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, confused and frightened by a sort of information overload.

"I know I can never replace her, Findabhair-"

"But that's not why I told Cedric off." I forced the words out of my mouth and gave her a very blank look.

"But why did you-"

"I'd rather not tell you." I responded, scooting over on the couch and burying my head in a throw pillow to signify the conversation was over. I peeked at Fiona's hesitant expression out of the corner of my eye, watched her open her mouth and then close, giving up.

"Alright, dear. Well, don't stay up too late." She got up and left the room. I waited until I heard her door shut upstairs before sitting up and grabbing the album from it's spot under the couch. I flipped through the pages until I found what I was looking for.

I gazed hungrily at the moving images of that beautiful, tall, regal woman that had been my mother. Her golden hair flowed to her tiny waist and she gazed at the camera with steel gray eyes that were heavy with black mascara and liner. I had inherited that smooth, pure white complexion. It made me think…if she had been alive, what would things have been like? Would I have ever known Cedric? Would I have liked him? Or would I have grown up playing with Draco Malfoy and his buddies? Would I even have been the same Findabhair?

But more importantly, how would my mother have handled all of this? Would she have allowed Cho to stomp all over her? I already knew the answer to that, she would have been strong. She would have beaten Cho at her own game. She would have confessed her love to Cedric. Belinda Sinclaire was twice the woman I would ever grow up to be. I turned the pages and found more and more pictures of my parents, noting how much my feature's differed from both of them. Oddly enough my face must have come from some former, distant relative It was like a whole new world had opened up to me: A world where my parents did, on some sphere of existence, live.

There was a sound of light footsteps coming down the stairs. I knew who it was but forced myself to stare determinedly at the pictures instead. The footsteps entered the living room and stopped behind me. I continued to flip the pages and pretended I didn't know Cedric was standing there. He let out an audible sigh.

"You're tensed like a coiled spring." I didn't say anything but felt a surge of ruthful joy that he'd come down to apologize. I felt him shift behind me and ignored it when he hesitantly set his hands on my shoulders and massaged them. Huh, he'd never done that before. At first, it kind of hurt and I was about to tell him to bugger off. But then, it started to feel _really_ good. I tried to stay tense and angry with him, but I didn't have the willpower(or the resolve) to resist that wonderful sensation. "I know you're furious with me."

I still said nothing but leaned into his fingers. Already, my shoulders felt so good!

"I'm sorry. I was a total wanker and I know you'll hate me for the rest of eternity because of Cho." He blurted and let go of my shoulders. I let him get three steps towards the door before I relented and turned around in my seat.

"Hey! You! Serf! I command your presence at my royal slippered feet. Now, c'mere." I beckoned and watched his anxious expression dissolve into something like joy. He walked carefully back into the room and I turned away to hide my smile. "Ahem." I shrugged my shoulders and he grinned.

"Your wish is my command, your Majesty." He set his fingers back on my shoulders and rubbed his thumbs in tiny circles. I sighed.

"Where did you learn to do this?" I asked after a minute.

"I picked it up from a Quidditch magazine, actually. It was about how different players get tense in certain areas of their body." He said nonchalantly and I tipped my head back to look up at him.

"Different players?"

"Well, for example: Chasers hold tension in their upper body, basically their shoulders and lower back. Seekers tend to hold their tension in their neck and arms, so on and so forth." He shrugged, smiling down at me.

"So…" I reached up and wrapped my fingers around his arm, yanking him down so I could examine it. "Here and…here?"

"Yeah."

"Sit down." I said, pulling on his arm. He nearly fell into my lap and I laughed as he jumped over the back of the couch and sat down beside me. I reached up and grabbed his neck between my thumb and fingers maliciously.

"AH! OW!"

"Stop whining, you tosser. This is your punishment for being a prat today. Valerie calls it a 'Vulcan neck pinch'." I giggled and released him. He grinned through his scowl and eyed me with a mischievous look. "Hey, this doesn't seem entirely fair: You were being just as awful as I was, don't you deserve a punishment?"

"Fine. Punish me." I tilted my neck up and held out my arms with a shrug. I shut my eyes and waited for whatever stupid punishment he could have conceived to smite me down. It never came.

"Cedric? Hello-AH!" He swept me into a headlock and pinned me there as I wriggled. "Cedric, you stink."

"Of aftershave."

"Yeah, and I'm going to bloody suffocate! Since when do you wear that horrible All-Spice derivative? Your killing me here." He laughed and released me so I slumped down across the couch, my head in his lap. I made a huge show of gasping like a beached fish. The smell of whatever he was wearing burned my nose painfully and I tried to sniff out his original scent through the chemical. I buried my nose into his hard stomach muscles and inhaled. Ah.

"You're so sensitive." He mock grumbled, smiling down at me.

"Yeah, but you never used to wear it. I liked it when you smelled like Cedric and not like…whatever you stink of." I rolled my eyes and sniffed his wrist, coughing.

"Cho likes it, though." Ced murmured, looking thoughtful.

"Than why doesn't she wear it, hateful cow." I muttered, sticking my fingers in my mouth on instinct as I started to spit clean his arm.

"Fin? I'll just go take a shower and wash it off…" He laughed and I went bright red, mortified. But that was the great thing about Ced: He wasn't freaked out by my pathological need for original scents.

"I agree with you, I don't really like the smell of it either." Leaning back against the couch, he put his feet up on the coffee table. He looked down at me thoughtfully and I tried to suppress a shiver and stop cuddling his arm. "What did I use to smell like?"

"Huh?" I asked stupidly, blinking. How could I describe how he used to smell? There wasn't anything I could compare it to….Cedric smelled like…happiness. Like warmth and like love and like strength and just plain delicious. Kind of like a cookie. No, not like a cookie. Damn it, Findabhair! Get a grip!

"How did I use to smell?" Cedric prompted again, taking my wrist and pressing it to his nose.

"Good. I don't know how to describe it without sounding weird…masculine-"And sexy, that was what I really wanted to say. "-and familiar? See? Still sounds bonkers. I liked the smell before, though."

"I can tell you what you smell like." Cedric murmured, inhaling my wrist again.

"Is it good?"

"It's the best. Better than how Cho smells." He smiled at me and took a deep breath, one hand stroking my hair.

"Really?" I took a ridiculous amount of pride in that small compliment. HA!

"Of course! Her scents all mixed up in the most disgusting perfumes. You just naturally smell delicious."

"So…describe my scent."

"You smell…almost like gardenia. Sweet yet sexy." He grinned down at me impishly. "Or, if we're going to beat around the bush, _familiar_." Damn it. I should have realized that Cedric would have known all along the words I refused to say. He could practically read my mind…sometimes.

"Cho doesn't smell sexy?" I asked, not liking how the stilted words came off my tongue.

"Nah. She does…just too much sexy and too little sweet. Merlin, we're weird." He laughed, rolling his eyes at the ridiculous conversation. Suddenly, I sat up and took his face in my hands, staring into his eyes intently.

"Do you really, really like her, Cedric? You aren't just with her because you're expected to be? You actually like her?" I asked, the tip of my nose a hairsbreadth from his. I realized how serious I sounded and tried to downplay it a bit: "Million galleon question."

" I think she's nice and pretty and that we're a good match." He muttered, sounding a little more breathless than usual. He kept staring at the tip of my nose, going cross-eyed.

"That's besides the point: Do you like her?"

"Well…yes?" He looked confused and laughed a little nervously.

" Look me in the eyes and tell me confidently." I prayed he wouldn't be able to do it.

"I do like her." He said firmly. Oh, that hurt. I chewed my lip, debating whether or not I should ask do you 'love' her when he caught me off guard. "Do you really like Oliver or are you just going out with him so I wont worry?"

"No. I'm going out with him so you wont worry."

"You're lie-wait, did you just say-?" Cedric looked utterly confused that I'd told the truth so easily. I shrugged and sat back on his knee, watching him.

"Yes, I told the truth. I don't like Oliver in a romantic way…" My heart pounded desperately in my chest and I had to look away.

"Then you don't have to date him. It's not fair to you." Ced began, clutching my shoulders tightly.

"But I do. The world doesn't revolve around you, oh wise and wonderful masseur." I teased, tapping the tip of his nose lightly with a forefinger. "I can't hurt Olive's feelings and he's so much happier because I'm there."

"So we're just both going to continue being miserable." He grumbled so low he thought I couldn't hear him. "Great."

"What?"

"Nothing, just talking to myself." He said quickly. We were silent for a long moment before I shifted and lay the album on the coffee table and sat up.

"I'm going to kip up to bed. Good night, Cedric." And without even thinking about it, I leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. I was halfway up the stairs before he seemed to break free of his shock and call up to me 'g'night'.

It wasn't until later, when I was getting out of the shower that I heard the gentle notes of a piano being played softly from the living room. I wrapped myself in a towel and crept down the stairs to listen to the tune. It had been a while since Cedric had played the piano. And it was always when he was stressed out or confused. It 'centered' him, whatever that meant. But I recognized the tune to this from somewhere…probably something Valerie had played for me.

" 'Love is real, real is love…" He sang softly, I slowly walked back up to my room. I could still hear the mournful sound of Cedric's piano as I crawled into bed. It wasn't a sad song, so why did it make me want to cry? My eyes were wet when I finally drifted off to sleep.

The trip back on the Hogwarts Express was drowsy, everyone to half-asleep to even bother with conversation. In fact, Ced and I didn't even try to find separate compartments with our friends and just sat in one of the middle ones where nobody usually hung out. It was quiet apart from the soft patter of rain and the murmur of distant speech and gears. Cedric's breathing was soft and steady, his chest rising and falling gently. I shut my eyes and lay my head on his shoulder…just for a second.

We were home again, walking down the winding dirt driveway that lead to the Diggory's. The trees cast their shade all the way along the drive until you turned the corner to the house: It was fairly ordinary, painted soft, lemon-drop yellow. The yard in front of it was a little overgrown and a large willow tree dominated the front yard. Bludger gamboled about in the field, chasing butterflies that fluttered lazily around just above his head. I felt Cedric's fingers entwined with mine as he tugged me along, smiling. We were sitting at the piano, playing that sad song…I was playing my violin and tears leaked from its strings. Olive and Cho sat on the couch and watched us, their sobs soft and heartbreaking. We were waltzing around the living room as the piano played itself. But still Oliver and Cho held each other and sobbed...

"Fin!" Someone hissed quietly in my ear and I blinked, reaching for the blanket that someone had pulled away from my chin.

"Olive? What are you doing here? Let me go back to sleep…" I muttered, laying my head back against Cedric's chest and closing my eyes. Oliver persisted by jabbing me sharply in the ribs.

"No…Oliver. No." I moaned, snuggling back against Cedric, who was still unconscious. As I spoke, he woke up blearily and shifted underneath me.

"What? What happened?" He asked, blinking. Oliver glared at him and tried to tug me away. I protested a little more loudly than necessary and Ced grabbed my other arm. " You obnoxious prat, Oliver. She's asleep! Let her sleep!"

"Oh! Go away!" I wailed and the compartment fell silent for a moment before Oliver walked out and slammed the door. I sighed and tried to fall back asleep. "I feel like a jerk." I muttered quietly into Cedric's sweater.

"Well, it's rude for him just barge in here and wake you up." Ced took a deep breath and my head rose and fell from where it lay on his stomach..

"Wake us up, you were asleep, too." I reminded him, then thought of something. "Cedric, if Cho was asleep against Oliver, alone together in a compartment…would it bother you?"

"Maybe a little bit. Would it bother you to find Oliver with Cho?"

"No, not at all." I replied honestly, watching his face. His eyes were still closed and he rested against the back of the seat, his lips curving into a smile.

"I knew there was another boy." I thought I heard him whisper softly as I snuggled down and drifted towards sleep. It might have been my imagination, but as my lids got heavier, he started to hum the same song from the night before. _Love is real…_


End file.
